Posted on 04/21/2009 12:37:31 PM PDT by Red Steel
California senator sought $25 billion for a government agency that had awarded her husband's real estate firm a lucrative contract to sell foreclosed properties.
On the day the new Congress convened this year, Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation to route $25 billion in taxpayer money to a government agency that had just awarded her husband's real estate firm a lucrative contract to sell foreclosed properties at compensation rates higher than the industry norms, the Washington Times reported on Tuesday.
Mrs. Feinstein's intervention on behalf of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was unusual: the California Democrat isn't a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs with jurisdiction over FDIC; and the agency is supposed to operate from money it raises from bank-paid insurance payments - not direct federal dollars.
Documents reviewed by The Washington Times show Mrs. Feinstein first offered Oct. 30 to help the FDIC secure money for its effort to stem the rise of home foreclosures. Her letter was sent just days before the agency determined that CB Richard Ellis Group (CBRE) - the commercial real estate firm that her husband Richard Blum heads as board chairman - had won the competitive bidding for a contract to sell foreclosed properties that FDIC had inherited from failed banks.
About the same time of the contract award, Mr. Blum's private investment firm reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it and related affiliates had purchased more than 10 million new shares in CBRE. The shares were purchased for the going price of $3.77; CBRE's stock closed Monday at $5.14.
Spokesmen for the FDIC, Mrs. Feinstein and Mr. Blum's firm told The Times that there was no connection between the legislation and the contract signed Nov. 13
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Too bad that the only senator with a brain from California has a corrupt brain.
The problem is that, unlike enlightened Europe, us American peasants haven’t yet come around to simply accepting the fact that some are more equal than others.
Senate ethics rules state that members must avoid conflicts of interest as well as “even the appearance of a conflict of interest.” Some ethics analysts question whether Mrs. Feinstein ran afoul of the latter provision, creating the appearance that she was rewarding the agency that had just hired her husband’s firm.
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DiChiFi is in FuLL Blum. ConGre$$ is in session.
used to be even the appearance of impropriety was the land you ought not cross..
Boy, have times ‘Changed’.
land=line
(drink)
Just another sleez bag politician.
Doesn’t Diane head up the committee that is looking into the criminality of the lawyers and interrogation techniques??????????? DC politics as usual. It’s that MAD policy in action.
Feinstein’s corrupt actions are bad, certainly, but, it appears that now we have gubmint agencies lobbying for financial support. Where in the Constitution does it talk about “redress” for gubmint agencies?
Washington dc isn’t worth saving. Let the damn swamp fill up with water again.
Richard Blum and Diane Feinstein are leading candidates for this years, Dick Gebhardt memorial “Winners of Lifes Lottery” award.
Shame on FOX! /s
They have been MSM long enough to know the rules for crying out loud.
As a Royal member of the Royal 100 Club she can do whatever she wants as they all do. Just listen to the so called Republicans call the left wing Democrats their friends, when in fact they are supporters of the enemies of the American People. Royals always commit crimes together.
Sadly enough, there still are people that ponder the meaning of your posted statement...and vote.
Where is Obama on this? Nowhere, of course.
ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN & NYTimes says “Who Cares!”.
if this had involved a Republican, the NYT would print an afternoon edition.
He’s been doing this for years. Why should he stop?
Apparently the oath doesn't mean much to some...twice.
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