Jane Hamsher, Grover Norquist Call for Rahm Emanuel’s Resignation

firedoglake ^ | December 23, 2009 | Jane Hamsher

[Lorianne]

Today, Grover Norquist and I are calling for an investigation into Rahm Emanuel’s activities at Freddie Mac, and the White House’s blocking of an Inspector General who would look into it. The letter follows:

December 23, 2009

Attorney General of the United States of America U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Attorney General Holder:

We write to demand an immediate investigation into the activities of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. We believe there is an abundant public record which establishes that the actions of the White House have blocked any investigation into his activities while on the board of Freddie Mac from 2000-2001, and facilitated the cover up of potential malfeasance until the 10-year statute of limitations has run out.

The purpose of this letter is to connect the dots to establish both the conduct of Mr. Emanuel and those working with him to thwart inquiry, and to support your acting speedily so that the statute of limitations does not run out before the Justice Department is able to empanel a grand jury.

The New York Times reports that the administration is negotiating to double the commitments to Fannie and Freddie for a total of $800 billion by December 31, in order to avoid the congressional approval that would be needed after that date. But there currently is no Inspector General exercising independent oversight of these entities. Acting Inspector General Ed Kelly was stripped of his authority earlier this year by the Justice Department, relying on a loophole in a bill Mr. Emanuel cosponsored and pushed through Congress shortly before he left for the White House. This effectively ended Mr. Kelly’s investigation into what happened at Fannie and Freddie.

Since that time, despite multiple warnings by Congress that having no independent Inspector General for a federal agency that oversees $6 trillion in mortgages is a serious oversight, the White House has not appointed one.

We recognize that these are extremely serious accusations, but the stonewalling by Mr. Emanuel and the White House has left us with no other redress. A 2003 report by Freddie Mac’s regulator indicated that Freddie Mac executives had informed the board of their intention to misstate the earnings to insure their own bonuses during the time Mr. Emanuel was a director. But the White House refused to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request from the Chicago Tribune for those board minutes on the grounds that Freddie Mac was a “commercial” entity, even though it was wholly owned by the government at the time the request was made.

If the Treasury approves the $800 billion commitment to Fannie and Freddie by the end of the year, it will mean that under the influence of Rahm Emanuel, the White House is moving a trillion-dollar slush fund into corruption-riddled companies with no oversight in place. This will allow Fannie and Freddie to continue to purchase more toxic assets from banks, acting as a back-door increase of the TARP without congressional approval.

Before the White House commits any more money to Fannie and Freddie, we call on the Public Integrity Section in the Justice Department to begin an investigation into the cause of Fannie and Freddie’s conservatorship, into Rahm Emanuel’s activities on the board of Freddie Mac (including any violations of his fiduciary duties to shareholders), into the decision-making behind the continued vacancy of Fannie and Freddie’s Inspector General post, and into potential public corruption by Rahm Emanuel in connection with his time in Congress, in the White House, and on the board of Freddie Mac.

We also call for the immediate appointment of an Inspector General with a complete remit to go after this information.

We both come from differing political ideologies. One of us is the conservative head of a transparency foundation, and the other is the publisher of a liberal political blog. But we make common cause today out of grave concern for the future of our country in the wake of corruption-riddled bailouts. These bailouts continue to rob Main Street to benefit Wall Street, and, because of that, we together demand the resignation of Mr. Emanuel, a man who has steadfastly worked to obstruct both oversight and inquiry into the matter. Rahm Emanuel’s conflicts of interest render him far too compromised to serve as gatekeeper to the President of the United States.

We will lay out the details further below, and are available at your earliest convenience to meet with you directly.

Sincerely, Jane Hamsher Grover Norquist

[GOPsterinMA]

Bad move. Vilify and run against him like the Rats did to Donald Rumsfeld and too a lesser degree, Karl Rove.

That a$$hole can be the new poster child of the Rat Party, now that Uncle Ted's gone.

[nonliberal]

Norquist is only doing this because Rahm is Jewish.

[purplelobster]

It’s high time someone called for an investigation of Rahm. Gorelick should be investigated too. The housing fund schemes appear to be the trojan horse for the largest web of wealth redistribution in U.S. history.

[Candor7]

Ping to the list.

Merry Christmas ALL!

[ExTexasRedhead]

No Jew I know would claim Rahm any more than they would claim the depraved Soros. Nor would they waste spit on them.

[STARWISE]

Strange, strange bedfellows .. to say the least.

Hamsher — vehemently lib blogger, Moveon ally,
and dated SEIU’s Andy Stern

~~~~~

She learned where the wires are in part from one of the ultimate insiders, SEIU President Andy Stern, whom she dated for two years.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30131_Page2.html

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

“..... Gorelick should be investigated too.”

I wonder if Jamie Gorelick, whom I consider the woman who has inflicted the greatest amount of damage to the US in history (9/11 Chinese wall; FNM) is related to Kenny G the sax player. G = Gorelick.

[freekitty]

Keep hammering them.

[Zionist Conspirator]

Norquist is such good friends with the muzzies that if any Republican could get Emmanuel fired, he probably could.

[sheik yerbouty]

His wife is alleged to be Fraudi Arabian. By sharia law, Norquist woukld also be of TROP..

[sheik yerbouty]

if he caught fire, I would not even cast my living waters upon his treasanous personage..

[Hildy]

Is Soros Jewish? Please, NO....NO....

[Hildy]

I can’t believe I didn’t know Soros is Jewish. OMG...I’m sick...I detest Soros with the heat of a billion suns. I think he is the most evil man on the planet..and now...a member of the tribe? I don’t know how much more I can take.

[shibumi]

From Wiki (which is partially funded by Soros):

"Soros was born in Budapest, Hungary, the son of the Esperantist writer Tivadar Soros. Tivadar (also known as Teodoro) was a Hungarian Jew, who was a prisoner of war during and after World War II and eventually escaped from Russia to rejoin his family in Budapest.[6][7] The family changed its name in 1936 from Schwartz to Soros, in response to growing anti-semitism with the rise of Fascism. Tivadar liked the new name because it is a palindrome and because it has a meaning. Although the specific meaning is left unstated in Kaufmann's biography, in Hungarian, soros means "next in line, or designated successor", and in Esperanto, it means "will soar".[8] His son George was taught to speak Esperanto from birth and thus is one of the rare native Esperanto speakers. George Soros later said that he grew up in a Jewish home, and that his parents were cautious with their religious roots.[9]"

[rottndog]

If he caught fire, I have a handy dandy pick axe I would gladly loan you to put it out...

[nonliberal]

An investigation like this is easier for Norquist the Muslim than blowing himself up in a Jewish market.

[dennisw]

I wonder if Jamie Gorelick....

.... Not an uncommon Jewish last name. It not always spelled like that.

[Brugmansian]

Bad move. Vilify and run against him like the Rats did to Donald Rumsfeld and too a lesser degree, Karl Rove. That a$$hole can be the new poster child of the Rat Party, now that Uncle Ted's gone.

My first reaction too. But then I gots to thinking. Rahm is the Great Satan to progressives. He is the corporate crook blocking Obama's vision. They're working on getting him out early next year. Maybe if we demand he go, they will not be so eager to force him out. Encourage them, by our opposition to him, to let him sit there cause division in the coalition and cause the true believers to see the money that elected Obama will always trump what they want.