When will Rahm Emanuel give back the money? »
Posted By pc25 8 months, 2 weeks ago in News
Capitol Hill exploded in outrage this month when AIG paid retention bonuses to the employees it brought on board to rescue the company from the shoals. What about people in high government office who profited from unethical behavior during the period when the damage got done? Congress could start demanding refunds from those people — like, say, Barack Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel:
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pc258 months, 2 weeks ago
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/...
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Rahm Emanuel's profitable stint at mortgage giant
Short Freddie Mac stay made him at least $320,000
Emanuel's Freddie Mac involvement has been a prominent point on his political résumé, and his healthy payday from the firm has been no secret either. What is less known, however, is how little he apparently did for his money and how he benefited from the kind of cozy ties between Washington and Wall Street that have fueled the nation's current economic mess.
Though just 49, Emanuel is a veteran Democratic strategist and fundraiser who served three terms in the U.S. House after helping elect Mayor Richard Daley and former President Bill Clinton. The Freddie Mac money was a small piece of the $16 million he made in a three-year interlude as an investment banker a decade ago.
In business as in politics, Emanuel has cultivated an aggressive, take-charge reputation that made him rich and propelled his rise to the front of the national stage. But buried deep in corporate and government documents on the Freddie Mac scandal is a little-known and very different story involving Emanuel.
He was named to the Freddie Mac board in February 2000 by Clinton, whom Emanuel had served as White House political director and vocal defender during the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky scandals.
another corrupt Chicago politician -
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pc258 months, 2 weeks ago
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-rahm-...
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Freddie Mac scandals began during Emanuel's watch
Before its portfolio of bad loans helped trigger the current housing crisis, mortgage giant Freddie Mac was the focus of a major accounting scandal that led to a management shake-up, huge fines and scalding condemnation of passive directors by a top federal regulator.
One of those allegedly asleep-at-the-switch board members was Chicago's Rahm Emanuel—now chief of staff to President Barack Obama—who made at least $320,000 for a 14-month stint at Freddie Mac that required little effort.
As gatekeeper to Obama, Emanuel now plays a critical role in addressing the nation's mortgage woes and fulfilling the administration's pledge to impose responsibility on the financial world. -
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pc258 months, 2 weeks ago
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seems we have another corrupt Chicago politician. Well at least we have a well rounded White House. We have a corrupt Chicago community organizer as President, and a corrupt, profiteering, ex Clinton adviser as Chief of Staff.........
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http://thepeoplescube.com/images/Obama_Logo_Mafia.... -
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NoWayMan8 months, 2 weeks ago
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so...Emanuel had nothing to do with AIG, as the lead in to this story might suggest.
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I'm all for targeting people who made huge money from this debacle, but to target emanuel and not pay attention to guys like Phil graham is just ridiculous. and its even more ridiculous to try and group emanual in with the AIG guys since the AIG bonuses in question were in the millions of dollars per person while Emanuel made $320,000 for 14 months work for Fannie and Freddie, which makes him the lowest paid high-paid executive I've ever heard of.-
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pc258 months, 2 weeks ago
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is that a fact
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Freddie Mac scandals began during Emanuel's watch
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-rahm-...
Before its portfolio of bad loans helped trigger the current housing crisis, mortgage giant Freddie Mac was the focus of a major accounting scandal that led to a management shake-up, huge fines and scalding condemnation of passive directors by a top federal regulator.
Emanuel's Freddie Mac involvement has been a prominent point on his political résumé, and his healthy payday from the firm has been no secret either. What is less known, however, is how little he apparently did for his money and how he benefited from the kind of cozy ties between Washington and Wall Street that have fueled the nation's current economic mess.
He was named to the Freddie Mac board in February 2000 by Clinton, whom Emanuel had served as White House political director and vocal defender during the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky scandals.
The board met no more than six times a year. Unlike most fellow directors, Emanuel was not assigned to any of the board's working committees, according to company proxy statements. Immediately upon joining the board, Emanuel and other new directors qualified for $380,000 in stock and options plus a $20,000 annual fee, records indicate.
On Emanuel's watch, the board was told by executives of a plan to use accounting tricks to mislead shareholders about outsize profits the government-chartered firm was then reaping from risky investments. The goal was to push earnings onto the books in future years, ensuring that Freddie Mac would appear profitable on paper for years to come and helping maximize annual bonuses for company brass.
The accounting scandal wasn't the only one that brewed during Emanuel's tenure.
according to company proxy statements. Immediately upon joining the board, Emanuel and other new directors qualified for $380,000 in stock and options plus a $20,000 annual fee, records indicate.
By the time Emanuel joined Freddie Mac, the company had begun to loosen lending standards and buy riskier sub-prime loans. It was a practice that later blew up and contributed to the current foreclosure crisis.
In his investigation, Falcon concluded that the board of directors on which Emanuel sat was so pliant that Freddie Mac's managers easily were able to massage company ledgers. They manipulated bookkeeping to smooth out volatility, perpetuating Freddie Mac's industry reputation as "Steady Freddie," a reliable producer of earnings growth. Wall Street liked what it saw, Freddie Mac's stock value soared and top executives collected their bonuses.
Another focus of Freddie during Emanuel's day—and one that played to his skill set—was a stepped-up effort to combat congressional demands for more regulation.
thats quite an economic team Obama put together Emanuel who took 320,000 in stock bonus while on the board and who did absolutely nothing to reign in the questionable practices of Fannie, which eventually caused the financial meltdown, and Geitner who was chairman of the NY FED when all the financial problems started and who had a major role in the AIG fiasco. -
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nostalgia8 months, 2 weeks ago
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"Emanuel made $320,000 for 14 months work for Fannie and Freddie, which makes him the lowest paid high-paid executive I've ever heard of."
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He wasn't an "executive" Emanuel was on the board and as the article points out "The board met no more than six times a year. Unlike most fellow directors, Emanuel was not assigned to any of the board’s working committees"
In another story:
The Obama administration rejected a Tribune request under the Freedom of Information Act to review Freddie Mac board minutes and correspondence during Emanuel's time as a director. The documents, obtained by Falcon for his investigation, were "commercial information" exempt from disclosure, according to a lawyer for the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
One of Emanuel's fellow directors at Freddie Mac was Neil Hartigan, the former Illinois attorney general. Hartigan said Emanuel's primary contribution was explaining to others on the board how to play the levers of power.
Another focus of Freddie during Emanuel's day--and one that played to his skill set--was a stepped-up effort to combat congressional demands for more regulation.
During a September 2000 board meeting--midway through Emanuel's 14-month term--Freddie Mac lobbyist R. Mitchell Delk laid out a strategy titled "Political Risk Management" aimed at influencing lawmakers and blunting pressure in Congress for more regulation. Through Delk's initiative, Freddie Mac sponsored more than 80 fundraisers that raised at least $1.7 million for congressional candidates despite a federal law that bans corporations from direct political activity.
Then-Freddie Mac CEO Leland Brendsel also hosted a fundraising lunch for Emanuel's 2002 campaign that netted $9,500 from top company executives. Brendsel was later ousted in the accounting scandal.
Federal campaign records show that Emanuel received $25,000 from donors with ties to Freddie Mac in the 2002 campaign cycle, more than twice the amount collected that election by any other candidate for the U.S. House or Senate.
Emanuel joined the House in January 2003 and was named to the Financial Services Committee, where he also sat on the subcommittee that directly oversaw Freddie Mac. A few months later, Freddie Mac Chief Executive Officer Leland Brendsel was forced out, and the committee and subcommittee launched hearings to sort out the mess, spanning more than a year. Emanuel skipped every hearing, congressional records indicate.
Feinberg said Emanuel recused himself "from deliberations related to Freddie Mac to avoid even the appearance of favoritism, impropriety or a conflict of interest."
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/20...
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