Now that he's President-elect Barack Obama's new chief of staff, according to various Nov. 6 media reports, will Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., face the same scrutiny Karl Rove did when he was named Bush's deputy chief of staff? More importantly, will the media take note the tie Emanuel had to the now taxpayer-owned, failed government-sponsored enterprise Freddie Mac?
Emanuel, who was a senior adviser for former President Bill Clinton throughout the 1990s, was appointed to the board of Freddie Mac upon his departure from the Clinton administration.
"Clinton's going-away gift to Emanuel was a seat on the quasi-governmental Freddie Mac board, which paid him $231,655 in director's fees in 2001 and $31,060 in 2000," Lynn Sweet wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times on Jan. 3, 2002.
During the time Emanuel spent on the board, Freddie Mac was plagued with scandal involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities. Freddie Mac and its sister organization Fannie Mae were taken over by the federal government in September 2008 after years of mismanagement and scandal. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson put the two beleaguered GSEs into a conservatorship, stripping common stock shareholders of their rights to govern the companies.
In 2006, Freddie Mac was forced to pay a $3.8 million fine to the Federal Election Commission to settle allegations it illegally contributed to congressional candidates between 2000 and 2003 - while Emanuel was on the board and running for and serving in Congress.
And, since his successful run for the House of Representatives in 2002, Emanuel has been the beneficiary of campaign cash from Freddie Mac and its sister organization Fannie Mae - $51,750 according to the Center for Responsive Politics Web site OpenSecrets.org.
Emanuel received $25,000 in contributions from Freddie Mac during his first run in 2002, right at the end of his tenure at the government-sponsored enterprise. Freddie Mac was his third largest overall contributor that year.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Republicans should raise the
November 6, 2008 - 17:18 ET by the strugglerRepublicans should raise the roof about everything connected to the Dems.Freddie Mac is a fresh scandal connected to the stock market plunge.Obama's first appointment can be tied to it.Shady characters abound.Republicans should pound these people.
The MSM has invested too
November 6, 2008 - 17:21 ET by rbosqueThe MSM has invested too much into Obama. They'll circle the wagons and sensor the news that they don't like.
Not only did Freddie Mac
November 6, 2008 - 17:28 ET by dboNot only did Freddie Mac have to pay a $3.8 million fine but the last line of the link states:
Its campaign finance settlement comes after the corporation disclosed
in June 2003 that it misstated earnings by $5 billion for 2000-2002,
bringing calls for tougher government oversight.
Absolutely nothing will be
November 6, 2008 - 17:34 ET by bigtimerAbsolutely nothing will be done about this outrageous thievery regarding Rahm, the dems the Clinton involvement, Rahm serving at the same time...please the Chicago machine and one of the biggest thugs is running the whole show...again.
Until, and unless the repub. party gets some back-bone and makes issues of matters like this, present and past, LOUDLY...it will be ignored...while repubs get investigated in congress, pilloried in the press/msm and either step down or resign let alone have to go to trail/jail blah blah blah..
I give up on the party growing a pair.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Emanuel
November 6, 2008 - 17:45 ET by bailmeoutStrap on those seat belts we're in for a wild ride!
It's just like the MSM said,
November 6, 2008 - 18:37 ET by RESTLESS 1Past associations mean nothing. </sarc>
"This
liberal would be all about socialize -- uh, uh, would be about
basically taking over and the government running all of your companies."-Maxine Waters 2008
Foxes
November 6, 2008 - 18:46 ET by Copperhead RidgeThe American people put the foxes and weasels in charge of the hen house with the election of this gang of thugs.
Now, it will be easier for Dems to launder money through Freddie and Fannie.
Barack is Scumbag-in-Chief, and Rahm Emmanuel is his dimented parrot.
Are we to take Emmanuel's appointment as COS as "reaching across the aisle?" I guess you have to reach across the aisle to punch the opposition in the nose.
During the time Emanuel
November 6, 2008 - 19:17 ET by TN MomDuring the time Emanuel spent on the board, Freddie Mac was plagued with scandal involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities.
Obama's newly appointed Chief of Staff is a crook. I'm no longer worried about terrorist attacks, the obama admin-with the help of Media cover-ups- is gonna blow up the entire nation.
Will the media report it?
November 6, 2008 - 20:10 ET by msh1973Will the media report it? Sure, when pigs fly.
Are you serious?
November 6, 2008 - 20:13 ET by SmidgenDoes anyone really believe that the republican coward party has the stones to hammer the dems on anything? Over and over again we watch in disappointment as the republicans turn a democrat scandal into a six-hour affair while the democrats turn a republican scandal into a six-month affair. No, we're such good guys. We purge all of our warriors ourselves like Gingrich and Delay. The dems promote their warriors to the highest positions. Who's the biggest culprit in our party: John McCain!
Al qaeda: The enemy foreign. Liberals: The enemy domestic.
No they won't report it,
November 6, 2008 - 21:14 ET by ConservativeRexNo they won't report it, how dare you ask!!
Now that's the kind of reaction you'll get from the MSM. And don't be surprised if you get investigated for even bringing it up.
They might use government computers to snoop to. LOL. To hell with 'em, investigate away. You never know, the tables may just get turned.