March 26, 2009
AT LEAST IT WAS A DO NOTHING JOB....:
Obama aide had stint at Freddie:
Rahm Emanuel served on the mortgage giant's board during an accounting scandal that triggered reforms. (Bob Secter and Andrew Zajac, March 26, 2009, LA Times)
Before its portfolio of bad loans helped trigger the 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.Posted by Orrin Judd at March 26, 2009 6:24 AMOne of those board members was Rahm Emanuel, now chief of staff to President Obama. Emanuel earned at least $320,000 for his 14-month stint at Freddie Mac.
Emanuel plays a critical role in addressing the nation's mortgage woes and fulfilling the administration's pledge to impose responsibility on the financial world -- the type of responsibility that appeared to be absent at Freddie Mac.
Emanuel, 49, is a veteran Democratic strategist and fundraiser who served three terms in the U.S. House after helping elect President Clinton and serving as his White House political director. The Freddie Mac money was part of $16 million that Emanuel earned in three years as an investment banker a decade ago.
Clinton appointed him to the Freddie Mac board in February 2000.
The board met no more than six times a year. Unlike most directors, Emanuel was not assigned to any of the board's working committees, according to company proxy statements.
