Rahm Emanuel Was A Freddie Mac Board Member
Emanuel is the Democrat's Karl Rove. He knew about the Foley scandal something like a year before, sat on the info till the election. Wanted to knock off Foley too late for the Republicans to come up with a good replacement. Was put on the Freddie Mac board as a reward by Clinton in 2000 for services rendered to him. Resigned 2002 (coincidentally when the big acctg scandal erupted) to run for Congress. Also ran the Democratic Congressional Campaign committee beginning in 2002, big role in Dems taking Congress in 2006.
With the Fannie and Freddie in the news.It's important to look at how the GSE's lobbied Congress to build their dishonest balance sheets.NPR has a list of the politically connected that made it to the GSE boards.Before coming to Congress,Rahm Emanuel was a Freddie Mac board member.This means Rahm Emanuel has some explaining to do.The Chicago Sun-Times reported on Rahm Emanuel's background :
Escapes controversy during impeachment. Leaves White House in 1998, never having to hire a lawyer. Clinton loyalist.
Chicago: Returns to Ravenswood, makes millions as an investment banker in a few deals; tapped by Clinton for a plum spot on Freddie Mac board; Daley appointee on CHA board. Wins House seat in 2002 with help of Daley Machine. Daley loyalist.
Here's Rahm Emanuel promoting housing in front of a Congressional hearing,after he left Freddie Mac.What did Congressman Emanuel khow about Freddie Mac's balance sheet? What did he vote on as a board member? We wonder if the MSM is going to investigate a key member of Congress on this issue.Can you think of many members of Congress who were on the board of directors of a company caught up in a major scandal before coming to Congress? You'll notice, at the time of this proxy statement, Rahm Emanuel was by far the youngest Freddie Mac board member at 40 years old.Do you know many or any people who are on the board of directors of an S&P 500 company by the time they are 40 years old?
Posted by Steve Bartin
nalert.blogspot.com
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Sweet, Brown columns go inside Rahm
By Lynn Sweeton November 12, 2006 8:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)
My colleague Mark Brown provides a unique look into Rahm Emanuel in his Sunday column, "Emanuel's political climb leaves an old friendship on back burner"
(http://www.suntimes.com/news/brown/132782,CST-NWS-brown12.article)">
And here's the top of my column:
Call him abrasive, cold-blooded, arrogant, manipulative, fierce loyalist, even charming, if it serves his business purpose.
Call him a master political strategist who just out-roved Karl Rove, Bush's politics guru.
Call him a policy wonk, which he would prefer, since it fits his evolving self-image better.
You may correctly call Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) all of the above.
And here is a prediction: Someday, you may be calling Emanuel "Mr. Speaker."
Emanuel's potential trajectory is set as a result of his key role in the Democrats retaking the House last Tuesday. He has been the chief of the House Democratic political operation for the last 22 months.
Takes No. 4 post for now
By almost two decades, Emanuel, who turns 47 on Nov. 29, becomes the youngest member of the incoming House Democratic leadership team when the new Congress is sworn in in January.
He is taking the fourth-ranking leadership post for his reward, rather than the third-ranking slot he could have easily argued he earned. Emanuel saw no reason to get in a fight for third place with an African-American rival who already put in for the job, when the prize that is worth fighting for is one day to be No. 1.
With Emanuel so much in the news, here is a refresher -- the essential Emanuel:
Family home: Traded up from Far North Side Chicago for Wilmette. Graduated from New Trier West. Israeli father, Benjamin, a pediatrician; mother, Marsha, a social worker. Undergraduate Sarah Lawrence; master's in communications from Northwestern University.
Sibs: Ari, super agent to Hollywood stars; Ezekiel, a physician, chairman of the department of bioethics at the National Institutes of Health; Shoshana, rarely mentioned.
Family: Wife, Amy; two daughters and a son. Sliced off tip of index finger of right hand working at a local Arbys at age 17. Ballet dancer.
Religion: Jewish.
Political resume: 1980s, starts with Illinois Public Action Council: runs House Democratic field operations. Fund-raiser for Sen. Paul Simon, Mayor Daley campaigns. Launches alliance with media strategist David Axelrod, his key adviser.
1990s, starts his opposition research firm. 1991, joins the Bill Clinton presidential campaign, moves to Little Rock, Ark. Saves Clinton by raising millions while Clinton is dogged by the Gennifer Flowers scandal.
Clinton White House years: Rewarded with job as White House political director in January 1993. Demoted by June. Resurrected by taking on NAFTA (with Bill Daley), other policy projects. Escapes controversy during impeachment. Leaves White House in 1998, never having to hire a lawyer. Clinton loyalist.
Chicago: Returns to Ravenswood, makes millions as an investment banker in a few deals; tapped by Clinton for a plum spot on Freddie Mac board; Daley appointee on CHA board. Wins House seat in 2002 with help of Daley Machine. Daley loyalist.
Congress: Came in with a running start because he knew Dem leaders from Clinton White House and was seen as a fund-raiser who could work the elite donor network. Demands seat on Ways and Means Committee as price for taking on political job; chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
The best quote: "He's as cold-blooded as I need him to be to make the decisions." -- House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Emanuel, May 27 National Journal.
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This is interesting:
Political Networks Of Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac
by Will Evans
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Doug Mills
James A. Johnson speaks in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18, 1990. The former Fannie Mae CEO was vetting potential vice presidential picks for Sen. Barack Obama until he was forced to step down after news reports suggested he got favorable treatment from a mortgage lending company. AP
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Tyler Mallory
Then-FBI Director Louis J. Freeh (left) and former President George H.W. Bush take part in a 1998 ceremony in Washington, D.C. AP
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Kevin Wolf
Harold Ickes, a former adviser to President Clinton, speaks at a news conference at the Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee hearing in May in Washington, D.C. AP
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Marcy Nighswander
In this 1992 photo, then-Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton speaks with Rahm Emanuel (right), a Democratic Party official, upon arriving at a hotel in Washington, D.C. AP
NPR.org, July 14, 2008 · Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have both had strong ties to the Washington, D.C., political community. The housing finance giants have counted government power brokers as board members and executive staff. Here, a look at key players, past and present.
Fannie Mae
James A. Johnson, former chairman and CEO: Aide to Vice President Walter Mondale; recently led Sen. Barack Obama's vice-presidential search team
Jamie Gorelick, former vice chairwoman: Deputy attorney general under President Bill Clinton; former Defense Department general counsel; member of 9/11 Commission
Franklin D. Raines, former chairman and CEO: Budget director under Clinton
Thomas E. Donilon, former executive vice president: Former assistant secretary of state under Clinton; senior adviser to Michael Dukakis' presidential campaign; national campaign coordinator for Walter Mondale's presidential campaign; congressional liaison for President Jimmy Carter.
Robert B. Zoellick, former executive vice president: Former deputy secretary of state and U.S. Trade Representative under President George W. Bush; currently president of the World Bank
Louis J. Freeh, board member: Director of the FBI under Clinton; federal judge
Stephen Friedman, former board member: Assistant to Bush for economic policy
Michele Davis, former senior vice president: Deputy assistant to Bush; currently assistant secretary of the Treasury.
Wayne Berman, outside lobbyist: Assistant Secretary of Commerce under President George H.W. Bush; senior adviser in Bush-Cheney presidential transition; currently a fundraiser for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign.
Steve Ricchetti, outside lobbyist: Deputy chief-of-staff to Clinton
Kirsten Chadwick, outside lobbyist: Special assistant to President George W. Bush for legislative affairs; currently a fundraiser for McCain's campaign.
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Freddie Mac
Richard F. Syron, chairman and CEO: Deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury
Ralph F. Boyd Jr., executive vice president: Assistant attorney general for civil rights
Dennis DeConcini, former board member: U.S. senator from Arizona
Robert R. Glauber, board member: Undersecretary of the Treasury under President George H.W. Bush
David J. Gribbin III, former board member: Aide to Vice President Dick Cheney; assistant secretary of defense under President George H.W. Bush
Harold Ickes, former board member: Adviser to President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton; member of the Democratic National Committee.
Rep. Rahm Emanuel, former board member: Senior adviser to President Clinton; former chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
Susan Hirschmann, outside lobbyist: Chief-of-staff to former House Majority Whip Tom DeLay of Texas
Michael J. Bates, outside lobbyist: Campaign official for President Reagan, presidential candidate Bob Dole, President Bush.
Martin Paone, outside lobbyist: Secretary of the Senate
J. Patrick Cave, outside lobbyist: Acting Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
Susan Molinari, outside lobbyist: U.S. Congresswoman from New York
npr.org |
