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February 18, 2009
Tax Troubles for Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's
Emanuel: "Oversaw" Freddie Mac's antics, then got donation from Freddie's PAC.
Rahm's 'rent' is just the tip of the ethics iceberg
by Dick Morris
News broke last week that Rahm Emanuel, now White House chief of staff, lived rent- free for years in the home of Rep. Rosa De Lauro (D-Conn.) - and failed to disclose the gift, as congressional ethics rules mandate. But this is only the tip of Emanuel's previously undisclosed ethics problems.
One issue is the work Emanuel tossed the way of De Lauro's husband. But the bigger one goes back to Emanuel's days on the board of now-bankrupt mortgage giant Freddie Mac.
Emanuel is a multimillionaire, but lived for the last five years for free in the tony Capitol Hill townhouse owned by De Lauro and her husband, Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg.
During that time, he also served as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - which gave Greenberg huge polling contracts. It paid Greenberg's firm $239,996 in 2006 and $317,775 in 2008. (Emanuel's own campaign committee has also paid Greenberg more than $50,000 since 2004.
Emanuel never declared the substantial gift of free rent on any of his financial-disclosure forms. He and De Lauro claim that it was just allowable "hospitality" between colleagues. Hospitality - for five years?
Some experts suggest that it was also taxable income: Over five years, the free rent could easily add up to more than $100,000.
Nor is this all that seems to have been missed in the Obama team's vetting process. Consider: Emanuel served on the Freddie Mac board of directors during the time that the government-backed lender lied about its earnings, a leading contributor to the current economic meltdown.
Meanwhile, Emanuel was paid more than $260,000 for his Freddie "service." Plus, after he resigned from the board to run for Congress in 2002, the troubled agency's PAC gave his campaign $25,000 - its largest single gift to a House candidate.
The president's chief of staff isn't subject to Senate confirmation, but his ethics still matter. Is this the change that we can depend on?
And there is this.......
There could be tax troubles on the horizon for White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who reportedly has lived rent-free in Washington for five years but hasn't paid taxes on the imputed income from that, according to reports.
According to the New York Post, the free rent in a home owned by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and not disclosing that "gift" apparently isn't all that's being questioned about Emanuel's arrangements, either.
Another issue is "the work Emanuel tossed the way of DeLauro's husband, Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg."
The report said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was confirmed despite not having paid on times the taxes he was supposed to have paid, Health and Human Services nominee Tom Daschle withdrew his name over unpaid taxes and proposed Chief Performance officer Nancy Killifer also withdrew over similar problems.
Also, while the issue didn't involve taxes, Obama's first pick for secretary of commerce – New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson – proved an embarrassment because of his involvement in an alleged pay-to-play scheme.
And according to reports in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Democrat comedian Al Franken, whose challenge to incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman still is awaiting a result in the courts, also had tax issues during his campaign.
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Wild Thing's comment........
This whole corrupt admnistration is filled with law breakers and most don’t like to pay taxes. And these hypocrites lead by Obama want to tell all of us that Iwe have to sacrifice to better the economy. sheesh
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at February 18, 2009 05:45 AM
Comments
Al Capone would be proud of his Chicago legacy.
Posted by: BobF at February 18, 2009 07:40 AM
Al Capone would be appointed to Obama's ... Federal Bank Security Commission as CZAR comrades!
"The world turned upside down..." - Lord Cornwallis, Surrender at Yorktown, 1781
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at February 18, 2009 08:08 AM
So if I register Democrat does that mean I never have to pay taxes again?
Posted by: TomR at February 18, 2009 11:27 AM
No, Tom, but YOU lose your middle finger. Good ole rham, ream, roam, what the hell kind of name is rham. This guy is a piece of dirt from the get-go. Short FY finger and all. He's Obamateur's muscle, sort of like Barney was on the Andy Griffith Show. So now ram has tax problems...is there a deficrat who don't have tax problems. It's not a problem when they are paid it should read. Rham fails to pay his taxes but thinks everybody else should pay theirs.
This is the biggest bunch of hypocrites to ever invade the White House.
Posted by: Mark at February 18, 2009 01:41 PM
Not another one with tax problems? Oh holy jumping cat turds!
Posted by: Lynn at February 18, 2009 02:03 PM
Its OK, it was just a minor mistake and nothing for us pee on's to worry about.
Posted by: cuchieddie at February 18, 2009 04:34 PM
Holy Turbo Tax Batman!!!
Posted by: JohnE PFC U.S. Army at February 18, 2009 05:06 PM
I wonder if our IRS Rebates are going to come with a complimentary dead fish for the next four years.
Posted by: JohnE PFC U.S. Army at February 18, 2009 05:11 PM
BobF, he sure would be. They have been following the Capone 101 booklet.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 18, 2009 07:32 PM
Darth, yes I bet ole Al Capone one of his first picks.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 18, 2009 07:36 PM
Tom, LMAO good one. Well I would think so if we go by what we have been seeing so far.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 18, 2009 07:39 PM
Mark, OMG, good comeback I am so bad at comebacks. hahaha
I had forgotten about Rahms finger.
You are right he really is Obama's muscle. As soon as ne named Rahm it made me shudder to know how Obama will run his reign of terror like the thug he is.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 18, 2009 07:42 PM
Lynn, LOL so funny....."Oh holy jumping cat turds!"
Yes another one.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 18, 2009 07:45 PM
cuchieddie, I was thinking about these non tax paying dems and there has to be something inside of a person to be like that not to pay. Plus the corruption and no feeling of guilt. It reminds me of Bill and Hillary Clinton's reign of terror and how they got away with everything.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 18, 2009 07:48 PM
JohnE PFC U.S. Army, good one, the dead fish thing would make a great graphic along with Rahm in it.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 18, 2009 07:50 PM
JohnE PFC U.S. Army , LOL
"Holy Turbo Tax Batman!!!"
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 18, 2009 07:52 PM
