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THIS CAMPAIGN STAFF APPROVED BY FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC.
Bad night over at McCain HQ, as it turns out that Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager and a powerful Washington lobbyist, has been accepting $15,000 a month from Freddie Mac. Since 2006, Davis's firm has received $345,000 from the very entity that McCain blames for the financial crisis. Worse, this isn't some sort of low-level decision at Davis's firm. It was a special arrangement engineered by Davis himself:
Davis's lobbying firm, Davis Manafort, based in Washington, D.C., continued to receive $15,000 a month from Freddie Mac until last month—long after the Homeownership Alliance had been terminated. The two sources, who requested anonymity discussing sensitive information, told NEWSWEEK that Davis himself approached Freddie Mac in 2006 and asked for a new consulting arrangement that would allow his firm to continue to be paid. The arrangement was approved by Hollis McLoughlin, Freddie Mac's senior vice president for external relations, because "he [Davis] was John McCain's campaign manager and it was felt you couldn't say no," said one of the sources.Meanwhile, here's a weird paragraph:
The sources indicated that Freddie Mac seldom called on Davis or the firm. On one occasion, Davis was asked to attend a meeting of the firm's political action committee during the 2006 campaign in order to give the Republican Party's perspective on the upcoming elections. In addition, Davis did meet with McLoughlin for breakfast on "one or two" occasions. Other than that, one source said, Davis "doesn't do anything" for Freddie Mac. The firm "doesn't even talk to him." In addition, Freddie Mac has had no contact with Davis Manafort other than receiving monthly invoices from the firm and paying them. But the money could be perceived as helping Freddie Mac ensure a good relationship with one of McCain's top aides in the event that he became president.
What, pray tell, is the other way that money could be perceived?
Meanwhile, it's now McCain's campaign manager and his transition adviser who have been found to be on the retainer of the institutions McCain blames for the financial crisis. That is to say, the most powerful individual in McCain's campaign and the most powerful adviser in the planning of his presidency have been vacuuming in money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Try to square that with McCain's explanation of the crisis: "There are certainly plenty of places to point fingers, and it may be hard to pinpoint the original event that set it all in motion. But let me give you an educated guess. The financial crisis we're living through today started with the corruption and manipulation of our home mortgage system. 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." That's the sort of "educated guess" you can only get from the lobbyists, politicians, and bureaucrats who helped persuade Congress and the administration to ignore the festering problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac!
COMMENTS (6)
So Davis gets Freddie Mac to pay him $345,000 and then can't stop McCain from blaming Freddie Mac for the crisis! Genius all around!
Posted by: DonBoy | September 24, 2008 12:47 AM
The key word, as Hilzoy points out, in McCain's statement about the "festering problems" is "ignore."
You wonder why it seems Davis and his firm did nothing for FMAC? Even McCain agrees that that's precisely what Davis was paid to do. Nothing.
Posted by: Trevor J | September 24, 2008 7:11 AM
this one may be too big and too close to home for a volley of POW! POW! to handle.
Posted by: bdbd | September 24, 2008 7:28 AM
forgot to add, for those looking for a parallel accusation to throw at Obama, for the sake of "balance," don't forget Obama's brief and interrupted association with the late Bernie Mac.
Posted by: bdbd | September 24, 2008 7:31 AM
Don't let go of this. It fits neatly into the MSM's "balance" protocol -- every time McCain is quoted bashing Fannie and Freddie, the next graf mentions these payoffs to his people -- and it spares MSM reporters from calling McCain a liar and hypocrite, which is not allowed under the "objectivity" protocol.
(Getting the hang of working the machine is more effective and satisfying than railing at the machine.)
Posted by: allbetsareoff | September 24, 2008 9:53 AM
Ezra, DonBoy, Trevor J, bdbd, allbetsareoff any of you capable of thinking for yourself? If the Democrats and NYT didn't feed you this BS what would you do?
"In fact, the allegation is demonstrably false. As has been previously reported, Mr. Davis separated from his consulting firm, Davis Manafort, in 2006. As has been previously reported, Mr. Davis has seen no income from Davis Manafort since 2006. Zero. Mr. Davis has received no salary or compensation since 2006. Mr. Davis has received no profit or partner distributions from that firm on any basis -- weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual -- since 2006. Again, zero. Neither has Mr. Davis received any equity in the firm based on profits derived since his financial separation from Davis Manafort in 2006.
Further, and missing from the Times' reporting, Mr. Davis has never -- never -- been a lobbyist for either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Mr. Davis has not served as a registered lobbyist since 2005.
Though these facts are a matter of public record, the New York Times, in what can only be explained as a willful disregard of the truth, failed to research this story or present any semblance of a fairminded treatment of the facts closely at hand. The paper did manage to report one interesting but irrelevant fact: Mr. Davis did participate in a roundtable discussion on the political scene with...Paul Begala."
"Again, let us be clear: The New York Times -- in the absence of any supporting evidence -- has insinuated some kind of impropriety on the part of Senator McCain and Rick Davis. But entirely missing from the story is any significant mention of Senator McCain's long advocacy for, and co-sponsorship of legislation to enact, stricter oversight and regulation of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- dating back to 2006. Please see the attached floor statement on this issue by Senator McCain from 2006."
Not that truth interest any of you but here it is, why not discuss this;
"To the central point our campaign has made in the last 48 hours: The New York Times has never published a single investigative piece, factually correct or otherwise, examining the relationship between Obama campaign chief strategist David Axelrod, his consulting and lobbying clients, and Senator Obama. Likewise, the New York Times never published an investigative report, factually correct or otherwise, examining the relationship between Former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson and Senator Obama, who appointed Johnson head of his VP search committee, until the writing was on the wall and Johnson was under fire following reports from actual news organizations that he had received preferential loans from predatory mortgage lender Countrywide."
Posted by: Nate | September 24, 2008 3:14 PM