Train Wreck: Obama Nominates 4th Tax Cheat to Cabinet

February 5, 7:54 PMDC Republican ExaminerBill Dupray

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This is turning into a farce. First we had Geithner, then Daschle, then Nancy Killefer, and now Labor Secretary nominee Hilda Solis also has a tax problem.

The husband of President Obama's choice to head the Labor Department paid about $6,400 Wednesday to settle tax liens that had been outstanding for as long as 16 years against his business, the Obama administration said Thursday.

As Ed Morrissey notes.

That makes 25% of Obama’s original Hope and Change Cabinet picks comprised by tax evaders. Add that to the fourth scandal of Bill Richardson’s pay-for-play federal grand jury investigation, and we have a full-blown vetting disaster.

Remember that 9 page information sheet all the Obama nominees had to fill out before they would be considered for a job? The press made a huge deal about the new, ethical tone Obama was bringing to Washington. The One was not going to be blindsided like Clinton with a Zoe Baird problem.

And it specifically asked about tax problems.

A nine-page questionnaire requires applicants to list--and if possible, provide copies of--all "posts or comments on blogs or other Web sites" they have ever made. Also required are "aliases" or nicknames used on those sites. . . .

Clinton also was forced to withdraw the nominations of Zoe Baird and Judge Kimba Wood for attorney general because of questions about whether they paid employment taxes for their nannies. President George W. Bush had the same problem with former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, appointed to be Homeland Security secretary.

Obama's questionnaire seeks to remedy that problem. It asks four questions about domestic help, including housekeepers, babysitters, nannies, and gardeners. It asks about child support payments, information about enemies that may "criticize" your nomination, tax returns, loans, jobs held abroad, and so on.

So it seems that all of these folks were not only tax cheats, they also lied when they filled out the questionnaires. If they didn't lie, then Obama nominated them knowing they were unethical candidates. Either way, Obama's incompetence in selecting these people is breathtaking.

Let's not forget the weeks of MSM bleating about McCain's supposed lack of vetting of Sarah Palin. Not only was she properly vetted, she paid all her taxes, like all patriotic Americans should (at least according to Joe Biden). 

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