Dem Congresswoman Blisters Obama Admin: “They’ve Got Explaining To Do”

[leftchick]

The Plum Line Greg Sargent's blog

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/economy/dem-congresswoman-blisters-obama-geithner-and-dodd/


A Democratic member of Congress today launched a blistering attack on President Obama and the Treasury Department over the AIG mess, becoming the first Dem to come out and directly confront the White House over the fiasco.

Maxine Waters of California went on the “Joe & Mika Radio Show” and said the President and Treasury and Chris Dodd “have some explaining to do,” suggesting that the “President is not up to speed on what is going on.” Here’s a transcript:

“Well, you know, they’ve got some explaining to do and I think the President is going to have to clarify to the American public what took place between Treasury and Mr. Dodd. Obviously there was, appears to have been some kind of agreement that they would protect the AIG from having to give those bonuses. I don’t know who said what and when. Chris Dodd said he wrote the language but that he was pressured practically by Treasury. Maybe the President is not up to speed on what is going on. But I think it is going to have to be clarified.”

Rough stuff. The question is whether this emboldens other Dems to follow suit.

[BuyingThyme]

1. Where's the blisters part? I know blisters when I see 'em.

[leftchick]

3. I know

it is no where near what they should be hearing. This fucking country will fall apart before we see a separation of congress and corporations.

[cali]

2. Maxine is just trying to deflect

Waters' use of funds faces scrutiny
By JOHN BRESNAHAN | 3/19/09 4:38 AM EDT Updated: 3/19/09 6:15 PM EDT Text Size:


Reports have surfaced alleging that Rep. Maxine Waters intervened with the Treasury on behalf of a bank that is tied to her husband.
Photo: John Shinkle





Rep. Maxine Waters’ (D-Calif.) re-election campaign lent $25,000 last August to a non-profit run by her daughter, according to campaign finance records. The funds were used to underwrite the costs of events at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, according to a

Waters herself serves on the board of the non-profit group, African-American Committee 2000 and Beyond, the California Democrat’s financial disclosure filings show.

The organization’s stated goal is “to promote the African American community in Los Angeles,” including by “developing and distributing literature on voting rights within the Los Angeles African American community.”

Campaign-finance experts said the interest-free loan, which comes due this August, is legal, as long as Waters did not benefit personally from it.

But for Waters’ critics, the loan will be one more example of her intermingling of politics and family business. Waters has come under fire during the last week after media reports that she intervened with the Treasury Department on behalf of a minority-owned bank in which her husband served on the board and currently owns at least $500,000 in stock.

<snip>

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20191.html

She has a very long history of this kind of crap. What a frackin' hypocrite.

[truedelphi]

8. That is not true. Time line wise - it makes more sense that she is under

Investigation exactly because of her so pointedly calling out all the recipients of TARP and also for her outrage at Pualson and Kashkari than to say she is now trying to distract from this investigation.

She has been on track with the message that the BailOuts are not good for the average person or for Main Street ever since Sept 2008.

[cali]

9. oh please

Waters has a history of this kind of stuff. And you're wrong about the timeline.

[JDPriestly]

10. No matter what she has done, her criticism is appropriate and

the Obama administration has some explaining to do. Obama needs to repudiate those of his staff and aides who have links to Goldman Sachs or were involved in the bail-out negotiations with AIG under the Bush administration. That includes Geithner.

Everyone involved in the AIG/Goldman bunch needs to be investigated to determine just what their roles were in this.

And, as Suze Orman has pointed out, the investigation should go into the Bush family and the Bush administration. Remember Cheney's ties to Halliburton and how that company stole from us. And now, the ties since at least Robert Rubin between Goldman, Citigroup, AIG and the outflow of money from our treasury.

Somebody is taking over the country. We the people no longer have any wealth or any say in what is going on.

[MADem]

4. "Explain yourself" isn't terribly "rough stuff," IMO. Dodd does need to explain himself.

He's "Countrywide Chris," after all, who got a sweetheart mortgage that we don't give our fighting men and women with sterling credit ratings. Obama has said he didn't know, Treasury said he didn't know, but should have, and last I saw, old Senator Countrywide was blaming "staffers" for the insertion.

Let's pull that string. That's all Maxine is saying.

[LSparkle]

5. I have to agree with her ...

All we need is the TRUTH, from both Dodd and Geithner. We
voted for TRANSPARENCY, for a change of attitude in the WH,
for CANDOR. If Geithner had something to do with it, fine ...
I just want him to explain his legal reasoning behind allowing
the bonuses to be paid -- set out what kind of legal chal-
lenges might have been mounted if they hadn't allowed the
payments to be made. Same thing with Dodd -- did he put
the language in, take it out, etc. Just give us some
straight talk, guys -- we can take it. I'd have a lot
more respect for both of them if they'd just come right
out and tell us what happened behind the scenes.

[cali]

6. I'd like to see Maxine explain herself

She's had too many conflict of interest problems and she's really in hot water now.

[LSparkle]

7. Absolutely .. I agree with poster above -- she's distracting

from her own problems. But I still hope Dodd and Geithner
come clean about the extent of their involvement in this mess.