Emanuel Stays Cool as Activists Poke and Prod

The Chicago Tribune ^ | December 14, 2010 | Kristen Mack and Jeff Coen

[PBRCat]

Emanuel's tax forms are at issue in the hearing into whether he qualifies to run for Chicago mayor under residency rules, and attorney Burt Odelson pressed him on the question as he neared the end of 90-minutes of questioning this morning. The former White House chief of staff filed a correction with Cook County in November to get a homeowners exemption on property taxes at his house.

"It was prepared by my accountant. I signed it and gave it a cursory review," Emanuel said of the tax return. "We made a correction, having found a mistake."

Odelson ended his questioning after asking Emanuel if he was aware of the requirement that a mayoral candidate live in Chicago for a year before the election. Smirking, Emanuel said he was.

Odelson has said that a state law allowing Illinoisans to maintain residency while serving the federal government applies only to the military. Emanuel said he has not served in the military, but Odelson was not permitted to get an answer when he asked Emanuel if he equated military service to "being in service" to the government.

Odelson's final question was whether Emanuel was not permitted to go into his Hermitage Avenue house while it was rented.

"If the lease states that, correct," Emanuel said.

[PBRCat]

Hiding behind your absent wife and children, Rahm? For shame! Since when our witnesses allowed to directed the witness stand with family photographs?

[MrDem]

I’m going to send this little puke a dead fish... but first I will stab it multiple times while screaming “dead”, dead” dead...”

[Liz]

The revealing statement here is that Emanuel checked the box "part-year resident" in his original 2009 Illinois tax return (now amended).

Rahm checked that off truthfully b/c, in his deluded power-crazed mind, he wasn't going back to Chicago for a long, long time.

Then Obama's numbers started diving as the Tea Party ascended. Rahm was given the bum's rush out of Washington before Midterms----as disaster loomed---in hopes of saving a few Dem seats. Rahm committed the ultimate crime---he failed to protect Obama from voters' revenge.

Now out of power---Rahm desperately needed to show he was still a player---thus the mayoral run.

THE RAHM EMANUEL LOSER EFFECT 4-term (gag) Congressman Rahm was beatified as the man who masterminded Dems takeover of Congress and WH. Cong Rahm ran (gag) "Our Common Values PAC" and chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee 2006-07.

Rahm had Dems winning in solid Republican districts running as "true believers." Rahm duped the voters again and again----he had Maoist Candidate Ohaha saying things like, "I want to be another Reagan."

The GOOD NEWS is ALL those Rahmified Dems are gone in the blitz of Nov 2. And Obama is treading on quicksand as we type.

Rahm's political aspirations in Chi-town look iffy, at best. What will Rhambo do next?

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FLASHBACK: September 25, 2009
Emanuel wanted placeholder to keep his House seat warm
BY NATASHA KORECKI Staff Reporter, SUN TIMES

It has long been claimed that Rahm Emanuel wanted to find someone to keep his congressional seat warm while he served as President Obama’s chief of staff. Now, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned that Emanuel wanted then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich to appoint Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool to his 5th Congressional District seat. Claypool would serve one or two terms and then be considered for a place in Obama’s Cabinet, according to sources familiar with Emanuel’s proposal. That would give Emanuel the option of returning to Congress, where he could vie to become House speaker. (snip)

SOURCE http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/1790104,rahm-emanuel-claypool-placeholder-092509.article

CHICAGO CORRUPTION MACHINE Chicago City Hall now (left) and 1907 (right) and the offices of the Cook County Board are in the same building in the 'Chicago Loop'. Its basically divided down the middle. 'City Hall' is on the west side, entered from LaSalle Street, and the Cook County Board on the east side, entered from Clark Street.

[Liz]

Well, at least Rahm has a job til the 24th.

"Obama says all he wants for Christmas is a pill that obliterates thoughts of midterms."

[Liz]

BACKSTORY January 2007 USA Today reported on Emanuel and his wife’s tax-exempt "foundation" (operated out of their Chicago residence).

The tax-exempt "Rahm Emanuel and Amy Rule Charitable Trust" was formed in 2002, when the 4-term Chicagoan was first elected to Congress. Rahm and his wife, Amy Rule (a convert to Judaism), are its only donors.

Rahm doesn’t pay any property taxes and he gets income tax write-offs----this allows his kids to attend school tuition-free and allows him to expense a lot of personal expenses.

Rahm also "donates" to his Foundation (thus shielding income from taxes); his wife apparently draws a salary from the foundation. They reported having $2,900 on hand at the end of 2005, receiving $34,000 from Emanuel and donating more than $31,000. Rahm also donated $25,000 to his Synagogue.

Emanuel’s tax-exempt foundation gave nearly $25,000 to the Anshe Emet synagogue and school [a private school that Rahm's children attend], and $15,000 to the foundation run by former president Bill Clinton. It also gave $14,000 to Marwen, a Chicago charity that provides art classes and other educational help to low-income children. Ms Rule is on Marwen’s board.

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Chicago pols collude with the Tax Collector to "delist" their properties.....to shield pols from paying taxes.

The Illinois Review News reported then-Congressman Rahm Emanuel and his wife did not pay real estate taxes b/c according to the Cook County Assessor’s website multi-millionaire Rahm Emanuel's Chicago home didnt’t exist. There seemed to be no public record of Emanuel ever paying property taxes on this home.

The Cook County Assessor’s and Cook County Treasurer’s online records indicated Emanuel’s neighbors pay between $3,500-$7,000 annually. The Illinois Review News organ's investigative reporters was unable to locate any evidence that Emanuel--- a multi-millionaire---was paying taxes.

AMNESTY WHORE GUTIERREZ A TAX CHEAT The same Chicago tax assessor that finagled Rahm's taxes, once carried the home of amnesty whore and a former cab driver Cong Luis Guiterrez (D-Ill) on the tax rolls as a "vacant lot."

The assessor argued---- after the story became public----that Guiterrez should not be penalized for a "clerical error" ....

This came after Guiterrez paid minimal taxes for years and years...... b/c Guiterrez' home was listed on the tax rolls as a vacant lot.

Cong Gutierrez (D-Ill) has made a career out of helping illegal aliens drain whatever they could out of America.

Good chance Gutierrez was aiding and abetting govt financial fraud and ID fraud. How many fake ID's were used to bilk govt agencies?

City investigating program that helped daughter of Gutierrez D-ILL---The Chicago Sun Times | May 4, 2010 |

The City of Chicago's inspector general has opened an investigation into an affordable-housing program under which U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez's daughter was able to buy a condominium at a discount, despite family income of more than $93,000, and resell it after 14 months at a 55 percent profit.(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...

FBI agents ask about Gutierrez, developer The FBI has interviewed City Hall employees and Chicago aldermen (a former cab driver) about U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez's ties to a corrupt developer, according to records and interviews that raise new questions about the congressman amid an ongoing federal investigation.

A former alderman convicted in the investigation told FBI agents that Gutierrez boasted of helping his longtime political supporter Calvin Boender obtain a lucrative zoning change for a development on the city's West Side. Another alderman told agents this year she thought Gutierrez was going to buy a home in the development. (Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ..

[Liz]

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