Post by graybeard on Sept 23, 2008 6:56:24 GMT -6
The bigger story is the TIMES FLAP on down the page. McCain admits to knowing little about economics, but has headed the Senate Commerce Committee and been on other finance committees for years!
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Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The lobbying firm of the man Republicans say John McCain has chosen to begin planning a presidential transition earned more than a quarter of a million dollars this year representing Freddie Mac, one of the companies McCain blames for the nation's financial crisis.
Timmons & Co., whose founder and chairman emeritus is William Timmons Sr., was registered to lobby for Freddie Mac from 2000 through this month, when the federal government took over both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
Newly available congressional records show Timmons's firm received $260,000 this year before its lobbying activities were barred under terms of the government rescue of the failed mortgage giant. Timmons, 77, is listed as a lobbyist for Freddie Mac on the company's midyear financial-disclosure form.
While Republicans say Timmons is making plans for the transition if McCain wins in November, the campaign wouldn't confirm his role. Timmons didn't return a phone call seeking comment.
McCain has labeled Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae as prime culprits in creating the financial storm that has roiled Wall Street and Washington.
``At the center of the problem were the lobbyists, politicians, and bureaucrats who succeeded in persuading Congress and the administration to ignore the festering problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,'' he said last week in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
``Using money and influence, they prevented reforms that would have curbed their power and limited their ability to damage our economy,'' he said. ``And now, as ever, the American taxpayers are left to pay the price for Washington's failure.''
`Cooked the Books'
McCain has criticized Democratic nominee Barack Obama in both television advertising and speeches for his ties to former Fannie Mae chief James Johnson.
``Fannie cooked the books and Johnson made millions,'' said a McCain ad, released Sept. 19. ``Then Obama asked him to pick his VP and raise thousands for his campaign.''
Johnson is listed on Obama's Web site as having raised between $200,000 and $500,000 for the campaign. He left Obama's vice presidential search committee June 11 after just a week, following reports that he received preferential mortgage rates from Countrywide Financial Corp., which suffered losses due to the collapse of the subprime-mortgage market and was bought by Bank of America Corp.
McCain's campaign also ran an advertisement that said Obama had received advice on housing issues from a more recent Fannie Mae chief executive officer, Franklin Raines.
Under Fire
Raines said he had only met Obama once, before Obama was sworn in as a senator in January 2005. ``I am not an adviser to Barack Obama, nor have I provided his campaign with advice on housing or economic matters,'' Raines said in a statement released last week by the campaign.
Campaign-finance reports show that Raines hasn't contributed money to the Obama presidential campaign either.
Timmons is a longtime power in the Washington lobbying industry whose clients include the American Petroleum Institute and Chrysler LLC. Visitors to the company's Web site are told that ``Timmons and Company pioneered the concept and the industry standard for Washington representation.''
He founded the company in 1975 after leaving the administration of President Gerald Ford, and has worked to elect every Republican presidential nominee since.
When asked about his role in the McCain campaign, spokesman Brian Rogers said: ``We're not discussing any aspect of the transition.'' An aide to Timmons who didn't give her name while taking a message at his lobbying firm said that only Timmons himself could discuss ``his work for Senator McCain.''
Times Flap
The McCain camp was also dealing with reports about the lobbying work of campaign manager Rick Davis.
The New York Times reported yesterday that Davis was paid almost $2 million in fees over five years by a group primarily funded by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae that was intended to help stave off more stringent federal regulation of the housing companies.
McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said other members of the Homeownership Alliance included Habitat For Humanity and the National Council of La Raza, saying the group ``was focused strictly on promoting homeownership.''
McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt accused the Times of being biased toward Obama. ``Whatever the New York Times once was, it is today not by any standard a journalistic organization,'' Schmidt said on a conference call with reporters. ``It is a pro-Obama advocacy organization.''
To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net; Timothy J. Burger in Washington at Tburger2@bloomberg.net.
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Note: Schmidt didn't refute the charges, he just went on the attack.
GB
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Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The lobbying firm of the man Republicans say John McCain has chosen to begin planning a presidential transition earned more than a quarter of a million dollars this year representing Freddie Mac, one of the companies McCain blames for the nation's financial crisis.
Timmons & Co., whose founder and chairman emeritus is William Timmons Sr., was registered to lobby for Freddie Mac from 2000 through this month, when the federal government took over both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
Newly available congressional records show Timmons's firm received $260,000 this year before its lobbying activities were barred under terms of the government rescue of the failed mortgage giant. Timmons, 77, is listed as a lobbyist for Freddie Mac on the company's midyear financial-disclosure form.
While Republicans say Timmons is making plans for the transition if McCain wins in November, the campaign wouldn't confirm his role. Timmons didn't return a phone call seeking comment.
McCain has labeled Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae as prime culprits in creating the financial storm that has roiled Wall Street and Washington.
``At the center of the problem were the lobbyists, politicians, and bureaucrats who succeeded in persuading Congress and the administration to ignore the festering problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,'' he said last week in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
``Using money and influence, they prevented reforms that would have curbed their power and limited their ability to damage our economy,'' he said. ``And now, as ever, the American taxpayers are left to pay the price for Washington's failure.''
`Cooked the Books'
McCain has criticized Democratic nominee Barack Obama in both television advertising and speeches for his ties to former Fannie Mae chief James Johnson.
``Fannie cooked the books and Johnson made millions,'' said a McCain ad, released Sept. 19. ``Then Obama asked him to pick his VP and raise thousands for his campaign.''
Johnson is listed on Obama's Web site as having raised between $200,000 and $500,000 for the campaign. He left Obama's vice presidential search committee June 11 after just a week, following reports that he received preferential mortgage rates from Countrywide Financial Corp., which suffered losses due to the collapse of the subprime-mortgage market and was bought by Bank of America Corp.
McCain's campaign also ran an advertisement that said Obama had received advice on housing issues from a more recent Fannie Mae chief executive officer, Franklin Raines.
Under Fire
Raines said he had only met Obama once, before Obama was sworn in as a senator in January 2005. ``I am not an adviser to Barack Obama, nor have I provided his campaign with advice on housing or economic matters,'' Raines said in a statement released last week by the campaign.
Campaign-finance reports show that Raines hasn't contributed money to the Obama presidential campaign either.
Timmons is a longtime power in the Washington lobbying industry whose clients include the American Petroleum Institute and Chrysler LLC. Visitors to the company's Web site are told that ``Timmons and Company pioneered the concept and the industry standard for Washington representation.''
He founded the company in 1975 after leaving the administration of President Gerald Ford, and has worked to elect every Republican presidential nominee since.
When asked about his role in the McCain campaign, spokesman Brian Rogers said: ``We're not discussing any aspect of the transition.'' An aide to Timmons who didn't give her name while taking a message at his lobbying firm said that only Timmons himself could discuss ``his work for Senator McCain.''
Times Flap
The McCain camp was also dealing with reports about the lobbying work of campaign manager Rick Davis.
The New York Times reported yesterday that Davis was paid almost $2 million in fees over five years by a group primarily funded by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae that was intended to help stave off more stringent federal regulation of the housing companies.
McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said other members of the Homeownership Alliance included Habitat For Humanity and the National Council of La Raza, saying the group ``was focused strictly on promoting homeownership.''
McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt accused the Times of being biased toward Obama. ``Whatever the New York Times once was, it is today not by any standard a journalistic organization,'' Schmidt said on a conference call with reporters. ``It is a pro-Obama advocacy organization.''
To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net; Timothy J. Burger in Washington at Tburger2@bloomberg.net.
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Note: Schmidt didn't refute the charges, he just went on the attack.
GB