I am self-employed and like Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner, I “self-prepared” my tax returns. But unlike Geithner, I think it's outrageous that he failed to pay self-employment taxes between 2001 and 2004.
Robert Gibbs, incoming White House press secretary, released a statement:
The President-elect chose Tim Geithner to be his Treasury Secretary because he’s the right person to help lead our economic recovery during these challenging times. He’s dedicated his career to our country and served with honor, intelligence and distinction. That service should not be tarnished by honest mistakes, which, upon learning of them, he quickly addressed. He made a common mistake on his taxes, and was unaware that his part-time housekeeper’s work authorization expired for the last three months of her employment. We hope that the Senate will confirm him with strong bipartisan support so that he can begin the important work of the country.
Will the IRS be as forgiving to hard-pressed Americans who “underpay” their taxes until they’re audited? Will the taxman waive the penalties for filers who can’t scrape together the cash to pay their taxes on time?
If the Senate confirms Geithner, it would be far from President-elect Barack Obama's promise that “change has come to America.”
It’s Christmas Eve, but stuff happens. So instead of asking you to remember me on your Christmas list, I’m writing about who’s been naughty or nice on President-elect Barack Obama’s transition staff.
In a five-page memo to the President-elect, Greg Craig, incoming White House Counsel, writes the transition staff had “no inappropriate contact” with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich:
In addition, the accounts contain no indication of inappropriate discussions with the Governor or anyone from his office about a “deal” or a quid pro quo arrangement in which he would receive a personal benefit in return for any specific appointment to fill the vacancy.
I participated in a conference call with Craig who discussed his findings.
Craig reported that Rahm Emanuel was the only aide who had contact with Blagojevich. Emanuel had “one or two” telephone conversations with the Governor, and “about four” conversations with his chief of staff, John Harris. Craig said the exact number is irrelevant since “those contacts were totally acceptable and appropriate.”
There was little new news. Craig did not have access to transcripts of the wiretapped calls; nor were there any written communications.
We did learn that Obama, Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett were interviewed by FBI agents and federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's office last week.
Blagojevich’s interest in HHS was ridiculous on its face at a time when it was widely reported that he was under investigation.
Obama’s BFF, Dr. Eric Whitaker, was approached by one of Blago’s deputies:
In the period immediately following the election on November 4, 2008 – on either November 6, 7 or 8 – Deputy Governor Louanner Peters called him at his office and left a message. When he returned the call, Ms. Peters asked who spoke for the President-Elect with respect to the Senate appointment. She explained that the Governor’s office had heard from others with recommendations about the vacant seat. She stated that the Governor’s office wanted to know who, if anyone, had the authority to speak for the President-Elect. Dr. Whitaker said he would find out.
The President-Elect told Dr. Whitaker that no one was authorized to speak for him on the matter. The President-Elect said that he had no interest in dictating the result of the selection process, and he would not do so, either directly or indirectly through staff or others. Dr. Whitaker relayed that information to Deputy Governor Peters.
Craig’s bottom line: “All contacts were innocent, appropriate and predictable conversations.”
The findings were leaked to ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, who posted on his blog:
Sources tell me that the Obama team’s review of contacts with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will show that Rahm Emanuel had only one phone conversation with Blagojevich.
The contact, described as a “pro-forma” courtesy call, came as Emanuel was named Chief of Staff for Obama. Most of the discussion concerned Emanuel’s Congressional seat (which had previously been held by Blagojevich), with only a “passing reference” to the Senate vacancy, according to these sources. No deal for the Senate vacancy was discussed…
Sources also confirm that Emanuel made the case for picking Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett during at least one of the conversations. In the course of that conversation, Harris asked if in return for picking Jarrett, “all we get is appreciation, right?” “Right,” Emanuel responded.
Meanwhile, the back story to the alleged contacts reads like a soap opera script:
Emanuel did contact the governor’s office about the appointment, and left Blagojevich with the impression that he was pushing Valerie Jarrett, a close Obama friend, so he wouldn’t have to compete with her in the White House for Obama’s attention, said a person close to Blagojevich. The person was not authorized to talk about the governor’s discussions regarding the vacancy and requested anonymity.
Like me, Jarrett is a Stanford grad. So, alumna to alumna, here’s some free advice: Remember President Harry S. Truman’s warning, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”
His major appointments seem to be fairly representative racially of the
United States population at large. If Obama has fallen short, it may be
in appointing women. One appointment in particular stands out to me—his
education choice. Would Obama have chosen Arne Duncan if he wasn’t from
Chicago, or would he have instead chosen a Linda Darling-Hammond?
There’s growing frustration that Obama’s governing coalition is leaving behind qualified women. So, a coalition of women leaders has sent a letter to the President-elect:
As leaders of women’s organizations and advocates for women’s equality, collectively representing over 14 million women, we are writing to elaborate on the need for historic levels of women’s appointments and the need to restore and strengthen executive branch offices for women.
We applaud your initial appointments of talented women and we encourage you to further gender balance your White House, Cabinet, and executive appointments. The U.S., with women composing just 17% of the members of Congress, ranks 71st among the world’s parliaments in representation of women. With women so underrepresented in Congress, we believe it is crucial for women’s representation to increase dramatically at the executive branch of decision-making. Many of us will be submitting names of excellent and diverse women for your consideration.
What do women want? They want Obama to address gender disparities:
In this spirit, we urge you to create a Cabinet-level Office on Women that will deal not only with the status of women, but with the many inequities women face in our society, our nation, and our world. Such an office is even more necessary today, because of the increased disparities and backward movement of the past eight years.
Truth be told, the Obama administration is not shaping up to be the “new dawn of American leadership” promised six weeks ago. Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates, Bill Richardson and Tom Daschle are not exactly fresh faces.
And big-hair Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is overshadowing the transition to power.
Throughout the primary and general elections, Obama lamented “distractions.” Now, he will enter the White House with the mother of all distractions – his incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is a key witness in an ongoing criminal investigation.
The Blago mess may also be a cautionary tale for Obama supporters.
Shortly after Election Day, Jackson Jr. launched a very public campaign to be appointed to Obama’s senate seat. My inbox was clogged with messages from the Jackson camp touting his newspaper endorsements and a poll showing he was the “top choice of Illinois Democrats to succeed Obama.”
While Jackson Jr. thinks he’s “entitled” to the seat, the Chicago Tribune reports he didn’t make the cut of candidates who would be “acceptable” to Obama:
Another source said that contact between the Obama camp and the governor's administration regarding the Senate seat began the Saturday before the Nov. 4 election, when Emanuel made a call to the cell phone of Harris. The conversation took place around the same time press reports surfaced about Emanuel being approached about taking the high-level White House post should Obama win.
Emanuel delivered a list of candidates who would be "acceptable" to Obama, the source said. On the list were Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Illinois Veterans Affairs director Tammy Duckworth, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Chicago, the source said. All are Democrats.
Sometime after the election, Emanuel called Harris back to add the name of Democratic Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan to the approved list, the source said.
The respite from political scandals was short-lived. A new Rasmussen poll found that 45 percent of American voters say “President-elect Obama or one of his top campaign aides was involved in
the unfolding Blagojevich scandal in Illinois.”
The news that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested
for allegedly conspiring to sell the senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama was shocking beyond belief. While the case unfolds in federal court, we have seen this political drama before.
In 1987, then-Sen. Gary Hart
was rumored to be having an extramarital affair. He denied the
allegations and invited reporters to “follow me around. I don’t care…If
anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead. They’d be very, bored.”
They did and caught him monkeying around with Donna Rice. Hart’s presidential campaign was history.
On Monday, Blagojevich said, “If anybody wants to tape my conversations go right ahead. Feel free to do it.”
Blagojevich continued:
I would remind them that it kind of smells like Nixon and Watergate. I
don’t care whether you tape me privately or publicly. I can tell you
that whatever I say is always lawful. And the things I’m interested in
doing are always lawful.
Hmm. In an interview with David Frost, President Nixon declared:
Well, when the president does it that means that it is not illegal.
ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that the consultants (Advisor B and another
consultant are believed to be on the call at that time) are telling him
that he has to “suck it up” for two years and do nothing and give this
“mother--ker [the President-elect] his senator. F--k him. For nothing?
F--k him.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH states that he will put “[Senate Candidate
4]” in the Senate “before I just give f--king [Senate Candidate 1] a f--king Senate seat and I don’t get anything.” (Senate Candidate 4 is a Deputy Governor of the State of Illinois).
I had no contact with the governor or his office and, so we were not – I was not aware of what was happening.
Still, some are asking, what did Obama know and when did he know it? ABC News’ Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper notes:
But on November 23, 2008, his senior adviser David Axelrod appeared on Fox News Chicago and said something quite different.
Axelrod has since released a statement:
I was mistaken when I told an interviewer last month that the
President-elect has spoken directly to Governor Blagojevich about the
Senate vacancy. They did not then or at any time discuss the subject.
It is said that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce. Blagojevich’s predecessor, George Ryan,
is currently in federal prison for selling driver’s licenses and
government contracts to the highest bidders. The notion that one could
sell Obama’s senate seat and get away with it is farcical.
Sadly, Obama will likely begin his term with members of his inner circle entangled in a criminal investigation.
At last year’s Heartland Presidential Forum, Barack Obama promised community organizers he would meet with them during the transition to help “shape the agenda” for his administration.
The President-elect is a little busy so he’s sending Valerie Jarrett, co-chair of the Presidential Transition Project, and Melody Barnes, director-designate of the Domestic Policy Council.
The event, "Realizing the Promise: A Forum on Faith, Community and Democracy," is presented by the Gamaliel Foundation and the Center for Community Change. Grassroots leaders from across the country " will share their stories and their ideas
to make America finally work for all of us."
Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change, said in a statement:
The forum is an incredible, unprecedented opportunity for real, everyday people to sit at the table to discuss changing public policy in our country. For too long, shaping public policy has rested in the hands of a few political insiders. We're expanding the power circle. We are taking back our country.
The forum will be webcast live here from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. EST.
