Rahm Emanuel’s profitable stint at mortgage giant — chicagotribune.com — There are so many conflicts of interest in this administration you’d think they were all Republicans. Of course the New York media refuses to give this much attention lest they get cut out of those press conferences.

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.

Found by Mike Cosmi.




  1. JimR says:

    Looks like someone punched him in the eye.

    …. or maybe just the power of concentration.

  2. TreeBeard says:

    I’m not really surprised. Both sides of the aisle…they’re all the same.

    You call THAT a press conference?

    “Let’s see…who’s next?…over here from the “Huffington Post”

    What a joke.

  3. PMitchell says:

    What is this, a relevant story wow what is wrong, could the editor be off today I haven’t seen a slam Palin story or blame Bush one either

    nice work and thank you

  4. Mr Diesel says:

    Which of Obomba’s buddies made about $90 million while at Fannie and Freddie? Rombo isn’t even in the same league as that ass wipe.

  5. guiltywhiteliberal says:

    Just another crook with a “D” behind his name.

  6. McCullough says:

    #3. Give it a rest.

  7. MikeN says:

    Where is the proof that Rahm did anything wrong, or was asleep? This is just allegation. The truth is that Rahm was very active in trying to stop the shenanigans, and anyway this had nothing to do with the housing collapse.

  8. marlow says:

    “New York media”? Was this written by Westbrook Pegler?

  9. Mr. Fusion says:

    There are so many conflicts of interest in this administration you’d think they were all Republicans.

    So where are all these conflicts of interest?

    If you want to slam someone then great, but have some facts first. Read the article. The end of the article reads

    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.”

    Nor did I see anything in the article that points to Emanuel doing anything wrong or illegal.

    Just more right wing nut drooling.

  10. Olo Baggins of Bywater says:

    He served on no committees, played no meaningful role in the operation of the organization. OK, so that’s patronage, but it was legal at the time, and which of us would turn down that kind of plum gig? Not me.

    But does it make him loyal to Freddie? His actions will tell us.

  11. ArianeB says:

    #3 This is a relevant story? How?

    If he did somethiong wrong during his stint it would have come out months ago. This is a pure “guilt by association” hit piece.

  12. Harry Sack says:

    Just another employee on the fast track in the United States Corporation.

  13. MikeN says:

    Given the public money, they should demand that the minutes be opened up, and give the Tribune what they asked for.

  14. MasonReese says:

    This reminds me of when Bush landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln in his flight suit. That was so fresh. Mission Accomplished motherfuckers! Mission accomplished indeed.

    That stunt was actually paid for out of George Bush’s own kick… The sign and everything. The fuel for the aircraft carrier, the whole 9 yards.

  15. Dr. K says:

    #14, way to make a undecipherable post! I think the added “f” word highlights the intelligence you put into your argument. Next time, try and stay on topic.

    Clearly, the Obama administration is as corrupt as any we’ve seen in recent years (if not more so). I believe John’s beef is with the media. They have no interest in investigating anything.

    Without the watchdog media, we should expect very little good to come from D.C. After all, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

  16. Joe says:

    The economist Dean Baker once said that Obama’s economic appointments were like selecting Osama bin Laden to run the war on terror.

  17. Paddy-O says:

    Another steaming pile for this administration.

  18. Proud Aliens says:

    #9: Shhhhh, this post wasn’t meant to be read.

  19. EvilPoliticians says:

    My politician is better than your politician.

    Why must people unquestionably stand by their party denying there can be any bad apples in the bunch?

    Rahm was part of the Chicago Machine. While this specific guilt by association may not be much of anything, to think he came out of my home state with nothing is laughable.

  20. The Warden says:

    Wonder why Eideard didn’t post this. Oh yeah, because he only trashes republicans/conservatives. In his eyes, demoncrats can do no wrong.

  21. Talk to the Hand says:

    R. Emanuel is bad news all the way around. BHO’s choice of Emanuel is the defining decision of his first 2 years and it is going to blow up on him eventually.

    But don’t talk bad about Emanuel or you might get suicided–two shots to the head.

  22. Colorado says:

    “There are so many conflicts of interest in this administration you’d think they were all Republicans.”

    The problem is they’re all Chicago ward politicans. We’re still early in this administration. When people start digging around all sorts of Chicago s#@! will come up on Emanuel and Obama. You can’t operate in the places they did without being deep in it.

  23. Mr. Fusion says:

    #16, joe,

    And Mr. Fusion said Dean Baker is a hack wannabe.

    I just love the way the right wing nuts have to come up with crap like this ad hominem as a way to attack Obama. They have no plans or platform. They have no budget proposal. They have no integrity.


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