GOPer: Critics of Senate's Vetting of Obama Nominees Are Cowards
Tim Geithner. Tom Daschle. Ron Kirk. What do these men have in common, other than their nominations to join the Obama administration?
Each man owed back taxes to the U.S. government that became an issue during their confirmations -- in Daschle's case, the debts were enough to derail his bid -- and each man had their missteps unmasked by the Senate Finance Committee.
The Politico reported earlier this week that the Finance panel's rigorous vetting was being supervised by Mary Baker, an IRS tax investigator doing a stint in the Senate. In that story, one anonymous "tax expert" quoted by the newspaper accused the committee of "going a bit overboard" with tax inquiries that are "detailed to the point of being silly."
And that anonymous dissing didn't sit well with Sen. Chuck Grassley (IA), the senior Republican on Finance. In a little-noticed statement released late yesterday, Grassley teed off on the "cowardly approach" taken by critics of his committee's Obama-nominee vetting:
We are vetting nominees for the current administration the same way we vetted nominees for the previous administration. ... Then, as now, many nominees have had to answer questions arising from the review of their tax returns. Some nominees were not able to be confirmed, and some prospective nominees were not nominated as a result of vetting by the Finance Committee....
Those criticizing this Committee's vetting process have taken the cowardly approach of attacking Committee staff. I think it's ridiculous I even have to say this, but Chairman Baucus and I drive the vetting process for all nominees. Committee staff either works for Chairman Baucus or myself, and staff does what we ask them to do. It's unacceptable that someone would attempt to blame a nominee's tax errors on the individuals who discovered or asked questions about those errors.
In total, the Finance panel has discovered nearly $200,000 in back taxes owed by Obama nominees that have now been repaid, Grassley noted.
And the committee's work hasn't only focused on taxes. Annette Nazareth, tipped to become a senior Treasury Department official, also withdrew her name from consideration just as reports emerged that the Finance panel was examining her past work at the SEC. Had her bid proceeded, there would have been the chance for some welcome public debate of the agency's spotty regulatory record in recent years.
Josh
Elana
Matt
Eric
Yeah, I just bet the vetting has been the same.
You betcha! Also too, Chuck!
March 13, 2009 1:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Come on now...remember Linda Chaves was Bush's first pick for Labor Sec and she went down for not paying SS taxes on a nanny.
March 13, 2009 1:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
With all due respect, perhaps Senator Grassley needs to introduce legislation to correct the IRS crap that leads to these sorts of errors. It's not as if these folks were damned criminals. Those folks are still on the loose and apparently spend time on Wall Street and at banks. :)
March 13, 2009 2:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Linda Chavez went down because she hired an illegal immigrant to be her nanny.
March 13, 2009 3:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
We were both wrong:
"She withdrew the nomination after it was revealed, through her neighbor Margaret "Peggy" Zwisler, that she had allegedly given money to Marta Mercado, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who lived in her home more than a decade earlier. Contrary to some reports, Chavez did not actually employ Mercado, but provided her with emergency assistance due to the domestic abuse the woman had been facing at the time. Chavez, Mercado, and National Review writer John Miller all stated that Mercado was not an employee of Chavez, and both Miller and Mercado credit Chavez with helping her at a time when she needed it most. A subsequent follow-up of the matter by the FBI found Chavez was not guilty of any wrongdoing. Chavez later helped Mercado find work at the Zwisler home. Mercado is now a U.S. citizen."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Chavez
March 13, 2009 3:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're using actual facts? Are you sure you're a Republican?
March 13, 2009 6:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'll take Grassley's side any day, and I am a born Iowa populist Democrat. He is honest, principled, and even handed. Not all Democrats are squeaky clean, and a few Republicans are squeaky clean. To have good government, we need to get rid of a some Democrats, as well as most Republicans.
The fantasy that only one person, or even a short list of people, are qualified to do a good job in any public office is absurd. All citizens must accept a high standard of personal conduct to aspire to public service. Once you transition to the ranks of the elite, you have lost touch with the majority of the American people.
No, I am not a Socialist. I have a PhD in economics and absolutely believe in a free market, capitalist system. Would that we had such a system. Grassley is not my kind of policy, but he is definitely my kind of public servant. He can do no harm. Let him clean house.
March 13, 2009 3:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
"In total, the Finance panel has discovered nearly $200,000 in back taxes owed by Obama nominees that have now been repaid, Grassley noted. "
I believe Daschle's short was not discovered by the committee but was known to Daschle and his accountant long before he was nominated, and that he was in process of fixing it. So that amount should not be credited to this overambitious vetting process.
Daschle had problems other than with his tax returns.
March 13, 2009 5:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
GEITHNER & RANGEL TO BE SUBPOENAED IN TAX FRAUD CASE
Federal Case Alleges Political Elite Get Favorable Tax Treatment Over Ordinary Citizens
On 5 March 2009 a Motion was filed in U.S. v. David Jacquot, Case # CR 08-1171, in the Federal District Court, in San Diego, California seeking to dismiss a false tax return indictment on the grounds that the Defendant was not treated in the same manner as politically prominent individuals. A hearing on this matter is set for 30 March 2009 in San Diego and the Defendant in this case intends to subpoena Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, and others.
The Defendant in this case is David Jacquot, an attorney and retired Army Officer. He is a decorated disabled Desert Storm veteran living in rural Idaho with his family.
This “Geithner Motion” cites HR 735 titled the “Rangel Rule Act of 2009,” which if enacted, would eliminate penalties and interest for common citizens to allow them to be treated in the same manner as House Ways and Means Chairman Representative Charles Rangel. The Geithner Motion also quotes President Obama stressing the need to “treat common citizens in the same manner as politically prominent individuals in regards to tax matters”.
The Geithner Motion details how Mr. Jacquot was vindictively indicted in retaliation for his successful defense of his clients against the IRS. The tax returns of his corporate law firm for the four (4) years of 2001 to 2004 were investigated and the government alleges that the law firm declared almost $200,000 TOO MUCH income during this time period. The Geithner Motion contains descriptions of numerous actions by the government and Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Faith Devine that are the basis for the claim of retaliation against Mr. Jacquot for his zealous representation of his client’s Constitutional and statutory rights. The improper actions of AUSA Devine have been reported to the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility for disciplinary action and are currently under review.
A copy of the Geithner Motion and the complaint against AUSA Faith Devine can be downloaded at:
www.jacquotlaw.com/vindictive-prosecution.html
Vindictive-Prosecution | Geithner Motion | Prosecutorial Misconduct | AUSA Faith Devine
March 13, 2009 5:47 PM | Reply | Permalink