Rahmbo Thumbs His Nose

How about this tax-evading moocher behavior from Rahmbo? And his $$ take for oversight on the board of Freddie Mac, you know, the "affordable" housing entity we're bailing out now? Mary Katharine Ham, TWS:

Now, it turns out, skull-cracker Rahm Emanuel himself has been crashing in a colleague's basement for five years for free and, you guessed it, not paying taxes on the abode.

Gawker first reported that Emanuel rents a basement apartment last week, mostly to make fun of the chief of staff for sleeping on a futon under a blacklight poster of Bob Marley. Which is an important part of the story, but it turns out the residence in question isn't zoned for rentals.

That sent Emanuel's colleague and alleged landlord out to deny the charges. Rep. Rose DeLauro (D-Conn.) told her hometown paper, "Hey, it's cool. He doesn't rent from me. He lives there for free!"

"I wanted to make clear: we have no separate apartment in our DC house, no rental apartment; all our bedrooms and living areas are part of the house and accessible. They are often used by close family and friends. In mid-November, I got a call from the DC zoning office indicating that somebody had lodged a complaint and asked to inspect the property, which we welcomed. My husband was there for the inspection, which was uneventful and we did not hear again from the zoning office."

Wow, so one of the most powerful men in Washington is either the 7th-year undergrad rocking out to Dave Matthews in his efficiency pad in between shifts at the Gyro Wrap or the masterful mooch who passed out on your couch after a tailgate freshman year and never, ever left. One wonders if he even pays his part of utilities. That hot shower water is not free, Rahmbo.

Hospitality between colleagues is not prohibited by House ethics rules, but a gift of this size would have required a written waiver from the Standards Committee, which neither party has yet produced.

Dick Morris on this and more:

Some experts suggest that it was also taxable income: Over five years, the free rent could easily add up to more than $100,000.

Nor is this all that seems to have been missed in the Obama team's vetting process. Consider: Emanuel served on the Freddie Mac board of directors during the time that the government-backed lender lied about its earnings, a leading contributor to the current economic meltdown.

The Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Agency later singled out the Freddie Mac board as contributing to the fraud in 2000 and 2001 for "failing in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention." In other words, board members ignored the red flags waving in their faces.

The SEC later fined Freddie $50 million for its deliberate fraud in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Meanwhile, Emanuel was paid more than $260,000 for his Freddie "service." Plus, after he resigned from the board to run for Congress in 2002, the troubled agency's PAC gave his campaign $25,000 - its largest single gift to a House candidate.

That's what friends are for, isn't it?

Now Rahm Emanuel is in the White House helping President Obama dig out of the mess that Freddie Mac helped start.

Hope and change? Same old, same old--only it keeps costing us more and more. And we still haven't heard the definitive word on Rahmbo's role in the Blago dealmaking for Obama's seat.

UPDATE: Steven Tarlow, Personal Money Store:

But let’s back up for a moment. Should Emanuel have declared his housing as taxable income? According to Steve Willis of the Post:

Mr. Emanuel would have the burden of proving it is not. The controlling authority is Commissioner v. Duberstein, 363 U.S. 278 (1960). The Supreme Court found very similar facts - but involving much less money - to be taxable rather than a gift. Mr. Duberstein received the “gift” of a Cadillac from a business associate, who was also a friend.

Honest Americans who have suffered through IRS audits hope that one is on the way for Mr. Emanuel.

Well, we won't hold our breath for that in an Obama administration--the most ethical and transparent ever, right?