As of early Tuesday evening, according to a report by Liz Moyer at Forbes, the latest news on the Chrysler bankruptcy filing is that:
- The recalcitrant non-TARP lenders who would not agree to the deal the government attempted to force on them are now attempting to challenge the deal the government and Chrysler have proposed in bankruptcy court.
- These lenders want to keep their identities hidden.
- In court documents, they have said that "intensifying pressure and name calling by the government threatened to harm them if their identities became public."
- Bankruptcy judge Arthur Gonzalez "isn't buying it," and has given the lenders until 10 a.m. tomorrow morning to identify themselves or (though not specifically stated) they will apparently lose their standing in court.
Meanwhile, John Carney at The Business Insider today expanded on what the lenders' lawyer Tom Lauria first brought out on WJR Radio on Friday, when Lauria told talk-show host Frank Beckmann that "One of my clients was directly threatened by the White House."
Carney's read-the-whole-thing report (HT Hot Air) goes further:
..... Although the focus has so been on allegations that the White House threatened Perella Weinberg, sources familiar with the matter say that other firms felt they were threatened as well. None of the sources would agree to speak except on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of political repercussions.
The sources, who represent creditors to Chrysler, say they were taken aback by the hardball tactics that the Obama administration employed to cajole them into acquiescing to plans to restructure Chrysler. One person described the administration as the most shocking "end justifies the means" group they have ever encountered. Another characterized Obama was "the most dangerous smooth talker on the planet- and I knew Kissinger." Both were voters for Obama in the last election.
One participant in negotiations said that the administration's tactic was to present what one described as a "madman theory of the presidency" in which the President is someone to be feared because he was willing to do anything to get his way. The person said this threat was taken very seriously by his firm.
..... These allegations add to the picture of an administration willing to use intimidation to win over support for its Chrysler plans--and then categorically deny it.
Clifford S. Asness, who in a public letter at the Business Insider, rips the administration's tactics, and expresses an understanding that "one by one the managers and banks are said to be caving to the President’s wishes out of justifiable fear."
So .... the national press is all over this outrage of executive overreach, right?
Uh, not exactly.
The AP had nothing to say about the alleged threats to non-TARP lenders as of an 11:11 p.m. report, submitting this bland recital (saved here for future reference):
Judge Arthur Gonzales says the procedures proposed by Chrysler's lawyers represent a "clear and orderly process."
Attorneys for Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler LLC argued that the automaker had essentially been up for sale for most of the last two years and a speedy sale was needed in order to preserve the value of the company's assets.
But those representing a dissident group of Chrysler lenders said more time was needed for other potential buyers to do the research they needed to make an appropriate offer.
A 5:43 p.m. AP story is about how some elements of Chrysler's latest concessions agreement with the United Auto Workers union might be helpful to General Motors as it enters the financial netherworld.
Zzzzz, ..... Zzzzz. Oh, I'm sorry.
The New York Times, in a report by Michael J. de la Merced and Jonathan D. Glater, does note the threats and Gonzales's ruling, and has the following at its second-last paragraph.
When the debtholders, calling themselves the Committee of Non-TARP Lenders, made their first public statement last Thursday, they said their group consisted of about 20 investment firms holding about $1 billion. According to their motion to file under seal, the group now claims about $300 million in holdings.
de la Merced and Glater were apparently not curious about the possible reasons why the amount involved, and presumably the number of holders, is significantly lower than it was just a few days ago.
Maybe it's because the threats are real, guys.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
—Tom Blumer is president of a training and development company in Mason, Ohio, and is a contributing editor to NewsBusters
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Comments Policy
dscott has been reporting
Tue, 05/05/2009 - 23:57 ET by bigtimerdscott has been reporting on this from the get go...he has a forum thread about this...
It is going to be interesting what comes of this, glad Fox is keeping up-to-date on this...
I hope they keep following this..it is more than important...this had everything to do behind the scenes of what is happening to our country and free enterprise... the take-over by the leftists.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Not just leftists, but
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 00:02 ET by MrSnugglesNot just leftists, but fascist leftists.
MrSnuggles... Right you
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 00:10 ET by bigtimerMrSnuggles...
Right you are...and then some.
As an aside, since I forgot to say thank you to Tom for the blog spot...I more than thank you...this is very important...to all of us...well, those of us that are adults that is...and can see what is happening to this country behind the scenes...that have better things to do than constantly bicker with others when we have this going on, these tactics are killing our free enterprise...destroying us all...people are too self-indulged to take the time to see this.
They will silence Laurio (sp) I fear too.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Chryslergate is gonna be
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 00:42 ET by Clear thinkerChryslergate is gonna be big... Let’s Get Ready To Rumble
Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/
Ct... I hope so! Doubling
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 00:48 ET by bigtimerCt...
I hope so!
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
bt... You should be in
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 00:53 ET by Clear thinkerbt...
You should be in bed. Me too! Good night!
Leftist Kook High Blood Pressure Warning
Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/
Ct I know, I know...I'm
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 01:09 ET by bigtimerCt
I know, I know...I'm heading that way pretty quick..beside that Ct...you are a couple of hours ahead of me time wise.
Catch ya tomorrow, here or there. ;-)
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Even if it does come out
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 01:00 ET by MrSnugglesEven if it does come out and Rahm or someone else in the presidents cabinet is found to have used extortion against the bondholders, the big O will just say "I was unaware of what was going on, yada, yada, yada".
And the media will swallow it whole.
That's not the Rham I knew.
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 06:34 ET by OneZeroThis is getting repetitive.
There are 10 types of people. Those who understand binary and those who don't.
Clear, you're being
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 07:40 ET by NL207Clear, you're being excessively optimistic about this.
The MSM will make every effort to spike the story. I believe they will not be 100% successful, but they WILL blunt all effective political opposition to Obama over this incident and the tactic will be repeated by the administration without penalty.
Does anyone remember
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 07:58 ET by Blonde"All that stands between you and the pitchforks is me?"
I hope he fails, too.
Can't say I'm surprised...
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 01:17 ET by Indiana JoeEconomic fascism was present in Obama's "stimulus" ideas in all but the words.
Silly us... we were worried that he was a socialist!
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."-John Adams
Be afraid, very afraid ..
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 03:51 ET by Dan The Man 2Be afraid, very afraid .. for real. This seems to be like Hitlers Germany where he took over the government and intimidated or bribed businesses or took them over. He also had control of the media, he had propganda (anyone see you toobe, the beefed up speeches and the crap proping up Obama) and eventually he was chancelor for life.
President ACCORN of Teleprompter
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 05:58 ET by GeneralAlThe Obamessiah is merely employing the tactics he mastered as a Communist Agitator, er, Community Organizer on the south side of Chicago. He protested in from of banks, sent them threatening letters with the help of two people he only "knew in passing, Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn! Why be surprised now? We have the ACCORN Teleprompter Obamessiah President who bows to the king of Saudi Arabia, gives money to Hamas, and wants to turn the Gitmo detainees free in our own country! Do you know what the difference is between the US and the Boy Scouts? The answer is, the Boy Scouts have adult leaders!
Rahm the Tiny Dancer
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 06:00 ET by Covert OpsBased on the articles I found on the DC Examiner, the Tiny Dancer Rahm was employed by Perella Weinberg. This is after he left the Clinton White House. Is it possible the Tiny Dancer broker a deal with his former employer to sign on to the "out of court" settlement?
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Ema...
COps...
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 08:06 ET by BlondeAnd look what I found linked within your link, poor Toes only made $16.2 million in the two and a half years after he left the Clinton White House:
I hope he fails, too.
SEE???
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 10:27 ET by Willis_Leon_JohnsonYou can buy corruption. Money truly does buy everything.
http://gjresult.com
Dick Morris has a terrific
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 06:11 ET by motherbeltDick Morris has a terrific read on Obama's new form of socialism : namely "compliant capitalism."
Companies will not look out for their shareholders or their employees
or even their customers so much as watch the smoke signals from
Washington to decide what to do. The markets won't control decisions.
Washington will.
I thought it was scary when Her Royal Clintoness said, as a candidtate, that as President she intended to "manage the economy."
The reality under The Obama is much worse.
They might say "Wow, that sucks!" But at least they'll say "Wow!" -Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes
The real Barrack Hussein Obama is showing...
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 06:31 ET by c5thenStalin would be proud.
Hey, I got the wrong "CHANGE"!
www.loyaltoliberty.com
>>>Although the focus has
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 06:37 ET by seanrobins>>>Although the focus has so been on allegations that the White House
threatened Perella Weinberg, sources familiar with the matter say that
other firms felt they were threatened as well. None of the sources
would agree to speak except on the condition of anonymity, citing fear
of political repercussions.
Er,... what country, precisely, do we live in, anymore?
The Union of Obama Socialist Republics???
We certainly aren't a representative constitutional republic anymore - post-1/20/09.
sean robins
blog.seanrobins.com
Patriot Act
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 06:52 ET by Agnostic...and Bush's Patriot Act destroyed the Constitution so we have no rights. Bush's fault. Obama is only trying to save us from ourselves.
The slow encroachment of socialism has found its catalyst in President Obama. The supersaturating of the economy with what should be dollars of rapidly decreasing value may be the beginning of an exponential explosion of social reforms that began with the usurpation of unions, media and the state department.
Just feeling a little cynical today but it is helping with anger management.
What? Isn’t it conspiracy Wednesday?
A person may be won over with logic and reason but the masses must be bought with spectacle and platitudes. - 2008 Elections
It appears Chrysler is
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 07:07 ET by ConservativeRexIt appears Chrysler is getting a taste of good-ol' Chicago politics. Of the Al Capone kind.
It's not like they were'nt warned.
Go to bed with dogs....wake up with Obamaniacs.
Different Sides
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 08:08 ET by rightwingidiotWhile many Americans get to see only one side of Obeyme, the side he portrays on TV, there is a sinister side that reveals itself when the cameras and mics are off and the door is closed. I refer to it as his Hitler-side.
Aided and abbeded by the MSM, Obeyme is able to portray the cool and calm TV personality that sells his policies as if they were the latest and greatest that all must have. But in the real world of Obeyme, it is nothing more than a sham-wow. The real man, the one that's directing seemingly everything, is sinister, calculating and power-hungry and hell-bent on total domination. Some will think I'm overstating this but I say wait and see.
Obeyme hides his sinister side well but it almost always comes through, albeit in small ways. I noticed it back in the primary. Whenever he speaks (er, reads from the teleprompter) he can't help but let some of his inner sinisterness come through. His facial expressions and word emphasis give it away if you're willing to pay attention. There is an inner man that is more hateful towards America than you can imagine and it bleeds through.
I think that Obeyme is nothing more than Hitler part deux. Oh, he won't be rounding up herds of people and gassing them but, if he gets his way on health care, you can bet his plan is to deem some people too sick or too old (too expensive) to be treated and they will die. His methods of cleansing will be invisible to most but they will be none the less just as effective as the gas chambers of Hitler.
How does any of this relate to how he's dealing with Chrysler? It's just a measure of how he really intends to control this country. If you think I'm off-base or overstating it I say, just wait and see.
AIG, ACORN Alphabet soup...
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 08:38 ET by ahleevee8I remember the SNL skit about Reagan where they showed him as a kind, jovial guy when outsiders were in the Oval Office, but as soon as the outsiders left he morphed into a completely different person. That's about the only true similarity to Reagan there will ever be for 'Obama, who art in Heaven - hollow is thy fame...'
I keep thinking AIG, Acorns on a bus tour and the media whipping them on - if it happened to them, why couldn't it happen to these guys?
Fox is reporting that some of the people are getting death threats and the White House is decling to answer their requests to have someone comment on this.
Hey - who put Barney Frank in charge of this???
"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't."
What will the judge do?
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 08:36 ET by slickwillie2001Latest developments: The Chrysler Fallout, Obama Takes Sides: http://newledger.com
The rubber hits the road when a bankruptcy judge takes on the Chrysler case, and maybe GM as well. Will a bankruptcy judge proceed as usual, or will they too be intimidated by the Chicago thug tactics of The Doofus? Will The Doofus make a naked attempt to interfere with the judiciary branch, and will he get away with it?
I agree with others, we are seeing the fascist side of this man with the president title. I also see tactics similar to those he taught ACORN employees when he was their trainer. Very few news outlets will follow this, but there's a few, -Fox News, CNBC and Lou Dobbs at CNN, and the business papers like Bloomberg. Business in America will never be the same.
Well, he will be the last....
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 10:24 ET by Willis_Leon_JohnsonIt will be many generations before another minority gets elected to that office.
Even the minority voters are going to see the damage he does to their wallets, their standard of living, as well as the societal damage that gives criminls the right to do as they please to the Citizens.
And there are some awesome members of minority groups that could do this job extremely well.
http://gjresult.com
I want to know who they are.
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 09:06 ET by Willis_Leon_JohnsonFor 2 reasons.
A. So I can support them!
B. So I can find out ho they funded politically for the last twenty years. I want to be able to inform the stockholders if they need a serious change in leadership because it's their fault for allowing their money to be used against them.
http://gjresult.com
I think we are getting very close to an abuse of power case...
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 09:23 ET by R D Helm...against the former community agitator, oops, I meant organizer.
-Dave
The statists aren't coming, they are already here.
media bias
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 10:20 ET by jessieHJessie R. Hamby They can all go belly up as far as I am concerned. WE need to get the organized crime out of our lives. Get rid of both parties. WE only need one party- the AMERICAN party. Do WE wait till it is all destroyed? If this keeps up it will be destroyed.
Obama has an investigation team
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 10:33 ET by sevenThe team that investigated and found no conversations with blagojevech. Obama can also declare they had no conversations. We are dealing with dangerous and angry people. If they threaten, they are just like the Union which is famous for violence.
Investigate?
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 11:02 ET by DelsaYou've got to be kidding. MSM knows the truth will NOT set SOBama free!
Heck, if you add this to the other things the SOB is doing, he might be impeached and jailed!
just sayin
obfuscate... bury... obfuscate.. distract..
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 11:25 ET by katainkentobfuscate...
Investigate? No way. Its expected now. Operation Immaculate Obama is in force.
Hold on ‘cause the world will turn if you're ready or not ~ KT Tunstall
Just like the non-TARP lenders at Chrysler
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 11:30 ET by JoeBobThe average investor is screwed, while the government, the unions, and the in-bed debt-holders are going to take the lion's share from GM, too.
Without recognizing the ordinances of Heaven, it is impossible to be a superior man. - Confucious
smell the hope and change
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 11:47 ET by candanceGone are the days of this kind of journalism. Welcome to a world where a Machiavellian leader is eternally justified. That's what the Democrats really meant by 'a new kind of politics.'
The MSM is not going to investigate Obama over this...
Wed, 05/06/2009 - 11:54 ET by R D Helm...or anything else. And no one else is going to investigate him, either.
Obama's handlers are aiming for nothing less than a full-blown takeover of the private sector in this country, among other things.
The MSM is in on this, up to their eyeballs, even. They are willing co-conspirators all the way.
They do not care how many laws Obama breaks in the process, either, as they are not going to report any of it, anyway.
-Dave
The statists aren't coming, they are already here.
Cerberus apparently got
Thu, 05/07/2009 - 00:02 ET by RR GOPCerberus apparently got really screwed on this. Wow...I assumed that they had some guys who can break legs and send dead fish on their team with no qualms.
Amazing.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 61% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory (yep...approval for Congress now at 39%...do you believe that!?).