Rattner’s exit prompted by probe?
posted at 4:00 pm on July 15, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Two days ago, car czar Steve Rattner abruptly quit, with an explanation that he wanted to spend more time with his family. Despite that explanation and assurances from the White House that Rattner had no involvement in corruption in the New York state pension fund, the investigation has apparently turned up enough evidence that NY AG Andrew Cuomo will press civil charges against Rattner:
The White House auto czar, who abruptly announced this week that he was leaving the administration, could face legal action in New York over his former company’s dealings with the state pension fund.
The Associated Press reported late Tuesday that New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo could press for a legal settlement with Steven Rattner regarding potential civil charges in a wide-ranging pay-to-play investigation. …
Cuomo and the Securities and Exchange Commission have in the course of the investigation charged a state official and a political consultant with extracting millions of dollars in kickbacks from investment firms trying to raise money from the state’s big public pension fund.
The Quadrangle Group, the private equity firm Rattner led before joining the Obama administration, paid more than $1 million to one of the people indicted in the case, New York political consultant Hank Morris.
A person familiar with the investigation said that criminal charges were unlikely but that Rattner or Quadrangle could reach civil settlements like those Cuomo has reached recently with other companies that made similar payments. The person wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the pending investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Once again, this shows what a mess Obama made of this appointment. Didn’t the White House bother to check with Andrew Cuomo about the involvement of Rattner and Quadrangle in the investigation? Apparently not; they took Rattner’s word that he had no involvement in it and repeated that to the press, who — especially the AP — seemed happy to report that as “authorities” stating that Rattner would face no charges.
Obviously, there’s more to Rattner’s involvement in the probe than first thought, and than admitted at any time by the White House.
Blowback
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They probed his “exit”? Duuude.
the_nile on July 15, 2009 at 4:01 PM
No, once again this shows that Obama appoints crooks on purpose because they are easily manipulated and will obey orders even when it breaks the law.
Daggett on July 15, 2009 at 4:03 PM
You are not supposed to drink the bong water.
How many times do we need to go over this?
Joe Caps on July 15, 2009 at 4:03 PM
Don’t they want a guy that will fit in with all of the other dishonest crooks in this administration?
If you hire a guy who’s lily white . . . wait, that’s definitely the wrong term to use here.
If you hire a guy who’s clean . . . wait, that sounds like something Biden would say.
If you hire an honest man, then won’t it make the other worthless lying scum in the White House, look bad by comparison?
There, that perfect.
NoDonkey on July 15, 2009 at 4:04 PM
“to spend more time with his family” was the giveaway.
patrick neid on July 15, 2009 at 4:05 PM
is there one friggin person in oboobi’s administration that’s not corrupt or crooked in some way?
SHARPTOOTH on July 15, 2009 at 4:06 PM
Toughest vetting process, ever.
lorien1973 on July 15, 2009 at 4:06 PM
Public pensions are the cess pool of state politcs and the main cause of states going bankrupt. If I talk to a state level politician, I always ask if they support sitching the state from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans. IF the they do, they got my vote.
WashJeff on July 15, 2009 at 4:06 PM
from car czar to soap-on-a-rope czar… how fast they fall.. so sad
gatorboy on July 15, 2009 at 4:07 PM
This is a precedent setting event.
I think we can count on individuals who “leave” the Obama administration to be quickly charged with a crime or to have a criminal probe made public.
BobMbx on July 15, 2009 at 4:07 PM
Rattner’s exit prompted by probe?
Is the Pope Catholic?
petefrt on July 15, 2009 at 4:07 PM
rhetorical question, right?
gatorboy on July 15, 2009 at 4:07 PM
And down goes Rattner!
LastRick on July 15, 2009 at 4:08 PM
Ed, you make it sound like this is something novel, something unexpected, that you’re shocked and surprised…
My question is this:
When do we get to the point at which we start using the term “high crimes and misdemeanors”?
Later this week would be good for me.
turfmann on July 15, 2009 at 4:11 PM
Another pay-to-play scandal involving Obama. The gangsta Presidency courtesy of the loony Left.
Guardian on July 15, 2009 at 4:11 PM
rhetorical question, right?
gatorboy on July 15, 2009 at 4:07 PM
yeah,
SHARPTOOTH on July 15, 2009 at 4:13 PM
1 down. 10,000 to go.
MarkTheGreat on July 15, 2009 at 4:13 PM
http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2009/07/help-me-start-the-groundswell.html
Been wondering if I should throw this in a thread over here, but it was pretty OT. Until now!
Dave Burge for Car Czar!
cs89 on July 15, 2009 at 4:15 PM
Paging Benny Shakar….Paging Benny Shakar….clean up on Aisle 4.
Patrick S on July 15, 2009 at 4:17 PM
Real stimulus is coming … We are really going to need to build many more prisons – federal penitentiaries, in large part, though many of the junta’s members are going to have short and permanent sentences.
progressoverpeace on July 15, 2009 at 4:17 PM
Who can ‘probe’ him, no one can even interview him?
HornetSting on July 15, 2009 at 4:18 PM
Why do you think Judd Gregg backed off. He saw that the WH intended to control the census, not Commerce, and figured out why. And that he was to be the “honest” front man to legitimize the crooked numbers.
Wethal on July 15, 2009 at 4:18 PM
This is the “administration” that continually demonizes wealthy individuals who they claim manipulated the financial system for personal gain.
Yet they keep nominating people like this, to positions of power.
How can this be?
NoDonkey on July 15, 2009 at 4:19 PM
This is a precedent setting event.
I think we can count on individuals who “leave” the Obama administration to be quickly charged with a crime or to have a criminal probe made public.
BobMbx on July 15, 2009 at 4:07 PM
Ah, a new bloodsport is born…..
catlady on July 15, 2009 at 4:20 PM
Yeah, SecDef Gates, who is the one leftover from the Bush Administration.
teke184 on July 15, 2009 at 4:20 PM
Most ethical administration EVAH!
Fletch54 on July 15, 2009 at 4:20 PM
Busy cleaning up the spills in the Sotomayor aisle.
BuckeyeSam on July 15, 2009 at 4:21 PM
I want the friggin law school kid who is heading up the GM restructuring to get caught cheating on his bar exam…
catlady on July 15, 2009 at 4:21 PM
OT. If you’re near a TV, Cavuto is about to cover Crowder’s documentary in the next few mins.
Weight of Glory on July 15, 2009 at 4:22 PM
Pleassse, can we stop giving this thug the benefit of the doubt… Obama is stuffing his administration with exactly the type of people he wants. The man spent the last 20 years surrounded with the likes of Ayers, Rezko, and Wright; this was by design and choice. These are the people this man feels most comfortable with. Pelosi and Reid fit the mold perfectly, which is why they wanted Obama rather than Hillary. This thug is in hog heaven.
Obama is counting on the state run media to work hand-n-hand with him, providing the talking points to the citizens as directed. It all comes crashing down if the media decides to protect themselves rather than go down with the Obama ship. Time will tell, but in the meanwhile, hotair, instapundit, powerline, ace, malkin, Limbaugh, and others continue to perform brilliantly on behalf of the citizens. I just don’t think any of us (myself included) give these sites and people enough credit for being the truth detectors on behalf of the people.
Keemo on July 15, 2009 at 4:26 PM
Uh-oh, this is really heating up. Reuters is reporting:
“Following Stever Rattner’s surprise resignation as the Obama administration’s Car Czar, his wife and three children called a hastily-arranged press conference to protest that they had no prior knowledge of his desire to “spend more time” with them and to insist that “…get back to work and stop moping around the house, bothering us.”
Rattner’s 9-year-old son, Timmy, complained, “Dad’s been nagging me to go out back and toss a baseball around, but he throws like a sissy – even sissier than President Obama.”
11-year old Erica, choking back sobs, noted that, “Daddy came home on Friday and gave me a hug and said, ‘Good news, honey, we’re going to be a family all the time now’ and it just reminded me of that movie with Jack Nicholson and they’re all trapped together in that big spooky house. It totally creeped me out.”
Rattner’s wife of 18 years, gripping the podium so hard her that her fingernails appeared to be bleeding, closed out the conference by reading a prepared statement, in which she noted, “The only reason I haven’t long since divorced the sniveling little metrosexual is that he was a big earner. If he thinks he can just mope around the house badgering me and the kids to ‘spend some quality time together’, he’s sadly, sadly mistaken.”
At the conclusion of the press conference, Rattner’s wife and children were swept away in their attorney’s black SUV to the County courthouse, where they filed for a restraining order.
guntotinglibertarian on July 15, 2009 at 4:26 PM
I was beginning to think Rattner was really the latest version of Dracula.
Hoping Kingston from Georgia is successful in going after all the President’s czars!
Soooo, when do we get transparent? Just wondering. Anybody?
freeus on July 15, 2009 at 4:27 PM
Buck up, Steve.
a capella on July 15, 2009 at 4:27 PM
“to spend more time with his family” was the giveaway.
patrick neid on July 15, 2009 at 4:05 PM
He could have come up with something more original.
TXMomof3 on July 15, 2009 at 4:28 PM
Exactly right Keemo, if it were not for the internet and talk radio, all hope would be abandoned. Makes me wonder about the past, when we did not have these tools. But wait, then we had honest reporters, or at least reporters on both sides of an issue.
MSM is owned by the corporate suits who are benefiting most from Obambi right now. Look at Goldman Sach’s profit and tell me there is not a few billion rats on that ship. Nary a whimper from the MSM.
Apathy and complacency are our two biggest problems. It is ironic that the same generation that was so energized to save the world in the sixties seems hell bent on detroying it now. Talk about biting the hand that fed you…
catlady on July 15, 2009 at 4:31 PM
catlady on July 15, 2009 at 4:31 PM
Brilliantly stated cat!!! :)
Keemo on July 15, 2009 at 4:32 PM
Buck up, Steve.
a capella on July 15, 2009 at 4:27 PM
LOL!
txag92 on July 15, 2009 at 4:32 PM
Well, the Cyber-Czar and the FCC are workin’ on it…
Not to mention Obammy’s Regulation Czar, who is advocating going after web sites (HA probably first and foremost) that allow the posting of “unsubstantiated rumors”.
guntotinglibertarian on July 15, 2009 at 4:34 PM
If we made a drinking game out of every time an Obambi official gets caught in their own lie we would have no livers left.
catlady on July 15, 2009 at 4:34 PM
Because it usually means “Spend more time with the family … before I’m confined to seeing them only once per month.”
LastRick on July 15, 2009 at 4:35 PM
guntotinglibertarian on July 15, 2009 at 4:34 PM
Yeah, dreading that, but the internet will be harder to police than they think….
catlady on July 15, 2009 at 4:35 PM
The guy looks like a classic weasel panty-waste.
D2Boston on July 15, 2009 at 4:38 PM
Hopefully you’re right, otherwise we’ll be reduced to mid-night forays, painting anti-regime graffiti on walls and scattering leaflets from roof-tops. While the Civilian Homeland Security forces hunt us down.
Like the White Rose kids in Germany.
guntotinglibertarian on July 15, 2009 at 4:38 PM
one czar down – how many to go?
Now, if we could just prove that the ONE is not a natural born citizen………
whatzit2u on July 15, 2009 at 4:40 PM
guntotinglibertarian on July 15, 2009 at 4:34 PM
Hope lies in the approval numbers… Everything stops if Obama’s approval numbers continue to plunge. Democrats up for re-election in 2010 will run from this man if his numbers continue on the free-fall they’re currently on. They can’t shut down free speech without continuing the plunge.
Keemo on July 15, 2009 at 4:42 PM
There are rumors that the recently-appointed Tampon Czar has tax problems. And the sex tapes of Household Implements (Non-electrical) Czar briefly circulated on YouTube before being mysteriously taken down.
guntotinglibertarian on July 15, 2009 at 4:44 PM
If we made a drinking game out of every time an Obambi official gets caught in their own lie we would have no livers left.
catlady on July 15, 2009 at 4:34 PM
Beat me to it-sounds like a great new game-drinks for everyone.
scorpio9 on July 15, 2009 at 4:45 PM
A czar is suborned.
Jim Treacher on July 15, 2009 at 4:46 PM
Our livers disagree. They’d fail by 2011.
LastRick on July 15, 2009 at 4:46 PM
On the other hand, if we only took a drink when the Obama “administration” got something right, we’d all be able to be designated drivers.
NoDonkey on July 15, 2009 at 4:47 PM
Yeah, cause you know… Prison visiting hours are very limited… better get to know them now…
Romeo13 on July 15, 2009 at 4:54 PM
Exhibit #63,792 in the report on the failure of American journalism.
Jaibones on July 15, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Maybe he was forced to leave because he paid his taxes. You know, bad example and all.
Johan Klaus on July 15, 2009 at 5:03 PM
Look up Rattner and Forest City Enterprises. Rattner left to avoid embarrassing the pres, but you don’t vet a big dog like him, he vets you.
JAW on July 15, 2009 at 5:05 PM
Damn, only civil charges? All we need is the sound of the jail door slamming on one Dem. Just one to start the crack in the dam, it’ll turn into the feckin’ Anvil Chorus.
JEM on July 15, 2009 at 5:10 PM
Poor Stevie. Put into a position that he knew nothing of. Put into a position as “Car Czar” were he could use his “expertise”. Put there by a Chicago politician. Just wrap your mind around those facts.
GarandFan on July 15, 2009 at 5:10 PM
Palin wasn’t vetted, Palin wasn’t vetted…that’s all we heard for weeks…now for months we can say with certainty, Obama doesn’t “vette”.
Obama doesn’t vette…Obama doesn’t vette…
right2bright on July 15, 2009 at 5:52 PM
That’s pretty much an infallible predictor of an upcoming scandal followed by a stint in the slammer.
Akzed on July 15, 2009 at 6:08 PM
looking forward to the next broken Obama promise — talk about audacity! It won’t be long before Obama tries to appoint Tony Reczko as a czar (he said he wouldn’t appoint him to a cabinet position, remember… or was that Jeremiah Wright… or was that Bill Ayers he said he wouldn’t appoint to a cabinet position.
How many slimy characters, tax-cheats, or assorted other ne’er-do-wells can one democrat associate with?
kscheuller on July 15, 2009 at 6:57 PM
We can only hope that Paulson will be next in line for a probe.
Kissmygrits on July 15, 2009 at 9:34 PM
Nothing to see here, nothing behind the curtain, move along. Is America now having buyer’s remorse? Six months of screw-up’s and he is just getting started. So much for the most ethical and transparent administration in history. Tax cheats, thugs, lobbyists, czars. What’s next? Can we afford this administration?
generouse on July 16, 2009 at 9:35 AM
Is there even one democrat in D.C. that doesn’t have criminal baggage?
This is probably small potatos. Why isn’t anyone going after the bigger fish, and their criminal activities?
The chances any of them would serve one day in jail? ZERO!!!
capejasmine on July 16, 2009 at 2:31 PM