Obama’s New Chief Of Staff Served on Board of Freddie Mac

Most of us who actively sought out information over the past couple of months probably won’t be surprised to learn that the man Obama has chosen as his Chief of Staff – Rahm Emanuel – was on the Board of Directors of Freddie Mac when the failed institution was in trouble between the years of 2000 to 2002.  You may as well get ready for “shocking” revelations like this one – I can almost guarantee more will be coming. 

I say Emanuel’s appointment is “shocking,” but of course we know it isn’t.  He was widely expected to be chosen for the job.  It’s far too early to begin accusing Obama of cronyism, but I reserve the right to make that judgment call at a later date.  I have a feeling I’ll get a chance.

The Emanuel information is important because no one seemed to be aware of his connection to Freddie Mac until non-mainstream news sources started leaking the story.  NewsBusters has a good article on it. 

According to government reports reviewed by ABCNews.com (who just now got around to thinking this story might be important):

According to a complaint later filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Freddie Mac, known formally as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, misreported profits by billions of dollars in order to deceive investors between the years 2000 and 2002.

Emanuel was not named in the SEC complaint (click here to read) but the entire board was later accused by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) (click here to read) of having “failed in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention.” [...]

The actions by Freddie Mac are cited by some economists as the beginning of the country’s economic meltdown.

The federal government this year was forced to take over Freddie Mac and a sister federal mortgage agency, Fannie Mae, pledging at least $200 billion in public funds. [...]

During the years 2000, 2001 and 2002, according to the SEC, Freddie Mac substantially misrepresented its income to “present investors with the image of a company that would continue to generate predictable and growing earnings.” 

So, just so we’re clear, “The actions by Freddie Mac are cited by some economists as the beginning of the country’s economic meltdown.”

And “Freddie Mac substantially misrepresented its income to ‘present investors with the image of a company that would continue to generate predictable and growing earnings’” while Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), a leading figure in the Democrat Party who’s supported Obama throughout his presidential campaign and Congressional Democratic Caucus chairman, was on the Board of Directors.

I’m still completely amazed that it never was fully revealed (although McCain actually mentioned it in one of the debates) that Obama is the second-leading political recipient of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac contributions since 1989 even though he’s only been in Congress since 2005 (Emanuel Rahm is #22 on the list). 

Since it’s generally accepted that officials at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lied, misrepresented, and screwed over investors and the government on their way to single handily jump starting a nationwide economic meltdown, it seems like it might be important to know which politicians were (and are) benefiting from the companies.  It seems doubly important that it be revealed that Obama’s first political appointment was someone who not only benefited from the two companies but actively participated in their dishonesty and cover-ups.

Like I said, I wouldn’t expect this to be the last of the “shocking” appointees that Obama brings into his administration.  But don’t expect to hear about it from the mainstream media.