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"Amazing. Yet another Obama appointee apparently has tax problems. Pardon me, usher, but I think Ive seen this movie before," J.G. Thayer writes at www.commentarymagazine.com.
"This time it's White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. It appears that the former congressman found a handy way to save money. Most members of Congress find themselves having to support two households - one in their home district, and one in or around DC. Some members, in the past, have ended up sharing apartments or town houses. Emanuel took that one step further: he moved into the home of his colleague, Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), staying there for five years. Rent-free," the writer said.
"To most people, this is 'imputed income' - non-financial gifts or compensation that should be reported to the IRS. Emanuel and DeLauro defend their conduct by saying that House ethics rules permit 'hospitality between colleagues.'
"Apparently they are not familiar with the old aphorism that 'guests, like fish, start to smell after three days.'
"And no, there was no impropriety or hanky-panky going on. Rep. DeLauro is happily married to one Stan Greenberg. Mr. Greenberg, by the way, is not a lobbyist. No, he's the next best thing in DC - hes a pollster. And, by wild coincidence, Greenbergs polling company (Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research) lists both Emanuel and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (which Emanuel headed) as clients.
"Let's see ... a Democratic representative gets free housing from a pollster who enjoys some very lucrative contracts from both that representative and a very influential group said representative heads up? Why, I'd never even suggest some kind of a quid pro quo arrangement." |
