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Troubling Disclosures

On Friday, the White House released senior staff members’ personal financial disclosure reports.

A review of Larry Summers’ form reveals that Wall Street barons paid him a king’s ransom. The New York Times reports:

Mr. Summers, the former Treasury secretary and Harvard president who is now the chief economic adviser to President Obama, earned nearly $5.2 million in just the last of his two years at one of the world’s largest funds, according to financial records released Friday by the White House.

Impressive as that might sound, it is all the more considering that Mr. Summers worked there just one day a week.

Summers also received more than $2.7 million in speaking fees from recipients of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.

While Summers protects Wall Street insiders, women like Rep. Maxine Waters, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair and Stanford alumna, Brooksley Born, have pushed for greater regulation and oversight.

Congress’ TARP watchdog, Elizabeth Warren, is the latest woman to blow the whistle on the “banksters.” Warren told the New York Post:

The management of the institutions receiving subsidies from the government must be replaced.

It is crucial for these things to happen.

Japan tried to avoid them and just offered subsidy with little or no consequences for management or equity investors, and this is why Japan suffered a lost decade

Warren added:

We want to ensure that the Treasury gives the public an alternative approach to what is happening today, an approach with which we have deep concerns.

Indeed, something has to give. Poll after poll shows Americans do not want the federal government to keep bailing out these banksters.

William Black, a regulator during the Savings & Loan scandal and author of "The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One: How Corporate Executives and Politicians Looted the S&L Industry," shares Warren’s outrage. He says the financial meltdown was driven by "fraud by top elites."

During an appearance on PBS’ Bill Moyers Journal, Black said:

But if you leave the failed CEOs in place, it isn't just that they're terrible business people, though they are. It isn't just that they lack integrity, though they do. Because they were engaged in these frauds. But they're not going to disclose the truth about the assets….

To know who committed the frauds. Whose bonuses we should recover. How much the assets are worth. How much they should be sold for. Is the bank insolvent, such that we should resolve it in this way? It's the predicate, right? You need to know the facts to make intelligent decisions. And they're deliberately leaving in place the people that caused the problem, because they don't want the facts.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner must do more than talk tough. He needs to apply his “single standard” to failed bank executives.

Geithner should start by firing Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis. BoA is no longer headquartered in San Francisco, but it still has a banker’s heart and a bankster’s worldview.

Daschle and Other Screw-ups

Folks, these “distractions” are starting to tax my nerves.

President Barack Obama’s pick to be chief performance officer, Nancy Killefer, dropped out after disclosing she failed to perform a chief responsibility of any American: paying taxes.

In a letter to the President, Killefer wrote:

I recognize that your agenda and the duties facing your Chief Performance Officer are urgent. I have also come to realize in the current environment that my personal tax issue of D.C. Unemployment tax could be used to create exactly the kind of distraction and delay those duties must avoid. Because of this I must reluctantly ask you to withdraw my name from consideration.

Well, Question No. 37 of the Background Questionnaire asks about that “kind of distraction”:

Has a tax lien or other collection procedure ever been instituted against you or your spouse by federal, state or local authorities? If so, describe the circumstances and the resolution of the matter.

A few hours later, Tom Daschle bowed to mounting pressure and withdrew his name for consideration for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Like Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Killefer, Daschle apparently skipped No. 39:

Have you ever been or do you have any expectation that you will be the subject of any tax, financial, or other audit or inquiry? If so, please describe.

Meanwhile, blacks and Latinos are raising questions about another Cabinet nominee, Republican Sen. Judd Gregg.

Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman, Rep. Barbara Lee, released the following statement:

The Department of Commerce has sweeping jurisdiction over a host of agencies charged with serving as business incubators. As Secretary, Sen. Gregg would play a vitally important role as the administration and Congress work to move our nation toward economic recovery.

Two of the most important responsibilities of the Commerce Department are to ensure that minority-owned businesses are fully integrated in our nation’s economic recovery and to conduct the decennial census.

In this light, Sen. Gregg’s record of previously voting to abolish the Commerce Department and his attempts to block President Bill Clinton’s efforts to secure adequate funding for the 2000 census raise troubling concerns regarding his commitment to the department’s core missions.

As the Census Bureau prepares for another count in 2010, it is important to ensure the census is fully funded to guarantee a thorough and fair counting of all Americans.

I trust that Sen. Gregg’s confirmation process will allow for the detailed examination of his past record and future commitment to the mission of the Commerce Department.

CNN contributor Donna Brazile told Wolf Blitzer “this is a wake up call” for the Obama administration.

Indeed. Sean Hannity gloated over Obama’s screw-up.  Hannity said, “In a few short hours, the house of cards on Pennsylvania Avenue came tumbling down.”

Taxing Questions

I stay as far away from the taxman as possible.

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.

It’s also outrageous to claim that Geithner, who would be in charge of the IRS, merely made “an innocent mistake.” If I were you (or Joe the Plumber), I wouldn’t try it at home.

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.”

After the Roland Burris fiasco, one has to question whether the rule of law means anything to federal lawmakers.

My bad. Geithner is no ordinary Joe. He’s a member of the club. And Leona Helmsley did tell us, “Only the little people pay taxes.”

Letter to the President-elect

A lot of folks are tracking President-elect Barack Obama’s appointments, including my colleague Rock, the African American Political Pundit, and Public Citizen.

The Liberal Journal (h/t AAPP) writes:

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.

Women helped bring Obama to the party. And they’re not settling for a dance card that’s half-empty.

Obama’s Jobs Bank

While Chrysler is closing all of its plants for one month, President-elect Barack Obama is hiring. Some constituent groups continue to wonder whether they will have a voice in his administration.

Women are raising their voices. The New Agenda, a nonpartisan organization for women’s rights, is keeping track of Obama’s Cabinet appointments. Amy Siskind, co-founder of the group, said in a statement:

To date, Obama has appointed only four women out of 16 18 announced cabinet positions. At this rate the President-elect would need to fill all remaining positions with women in order to achieve near gender parity.

Siskind’s concerns were echoed by WomenCount:

In recent days we have been urged by some of our colleagues in the world of women’s advocacy to call attention to President-elect Obama’s failure to nominate more women to his Cabinet. Rather than speak out, we have given him the benefit of the doubt and encouraged others to do the same - until now.

With this week’s announcements, the new Cabinet stands at 14 men and 4 women. That puts the current percentage of women in the Obama Cabinet at 22 percent - and there are only four Cabinet-level openings left to fill.

President Clinton’s first Cabinet - 16 years ago - was 37 percent women. In his second term, it climbed to 47 percent women. President Bush began his first term with 22 percent women in his Cabinet. We want that number to go up - not go down or stay the same!

Some more math: women make up 51 percent of the American population and 56 percent of voters. In the 2008 presidential election, women voted for Obama 56 to 49 percent over men.

Dozens of qualified women have been recommended to fill critical slots on the incoming leadership team.

We urge the President-elect and his transition team to act now to improve their record of commitment to naming women to senior positions in the new Administration. It’s not too late.

Such a lack of progress for women underscores the need for real change – now.

WomenCount is also calling on Obama to establish a Presidential Commission on Women during his first 100 days. To sign the petition, go here.

Electors Make it Official; Blago Distracts

The 538 electors of the Electoral College will meet today at noon to cast their votes for President and Vice President. While Barack Obama has the trappings of the President-elect, he doesn’t officially assume that office until the votes are certified in the 50 state capitals and the District of Columbia.

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.

Consider: Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., “Senate Candidate 5,” rebuked his father when Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. was caught on tape making crude comments about Obama.

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.”

BTW, the poll also showed that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan had zero support among black Democrats.

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.”

Now in production: “The Hunting of the President President-elect.”

Obama’s Senate Seat for Sale?

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.

Blagojevich was intercepted saying:

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).

President-elect Barack Obama said he was out of the loop:

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.