On Apr 21, 9:27*am, wrote:
On Apr 21, 9:07*am, wrote:





On Apr 21, 8:37*am, wrote:

On the day the new Congress convened this year, Sen. Dianne Feinstein
introduced legislation to route $25 billion in taxpayer money to a
government agency that had just awarded her husband's real estate firm
a lucrative contract to sell foreclosed properties at compensation
rates higher than the industry norms.

Mrs. Feinstein's intervention on behalf of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp. was unusual: the California Democrat isn't a member of
the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs with
jurisdiction over FDIC; and the agency is supposed to operate from
money it raises from bank-paid insurance payments - not direct federal
dollars.

Documents reviewed by The Washington Times show Mrs. Feinstein first
offered Oct. 30 to help the FDIC secure money for its effort to stem
the rise of home foreclosures. Her letter was sent just days before
the agency determined that CB Richard Ellis Group (CBRE) - the
commercial real estate firm that her husband Richard Blum heads as
board chairman - had won the competitive bidding for a contract to
sell foreclosed properties that FDIC had inherited from failed banks.

About the same time of the contract award, Mr. Blum's private
investment firm reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission
that it and related affiliates had purchased more than 10 million new
shares in CBRE. The shares were purchased for the going price of
$3.77; CBRE's stock closed Monday at $5.14.

Spokesmen for the FDIC, Mrs. Feinstein and Mr. Blum's firm told The
Times that there was no connection between the legislation and the
contract signed Nov. 13, and that the couple didn't even know about
CBRE's business with FDIC until after it was awarded.

Senate ethics rules state that members must avoid conflicts of
interest as well as "even the appearance of a conflict of interest."
Some ethics analysts question whether Mrs. Feinstein ran afoul of the
latter provision, creating the appearance that she was rewarding the
agency that had just hired her husband's firm.

"This clearly gives the appearance of a conflict of interest," said
Kent Cooper, a former federal regulator who specializes in government
ethics and disclosures. "To maintain the people's trust in government,
it is incumbent on a legislator to take the extra steps necessary to
ensure that when she introduces any legislation that it does not cause
people to question her motives or the business activities of her
spouse."

Mrs. Feinstein and Mr. Blum, a wealthy investment banker, are a power
couple in both Washington and California who sat behind President
Obama during his inauguration in January. Mrs. Feinstein also is
mentioned as a candidate for California governor.

The FDIC contract "highlights the problem of a senator with a spouse
who has extensive business interests that intersect frequently with
the federal government," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the
watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
(CREW). "Even if there is no actual conflict of interest, it often has
the appearance of a conflict."

Yes, we know, only the liberals ever do such things. Conservatives
never do. If a conservative does something, it's either good, or just
not talked about. If a liberal does the same thing, it's the end of
the world.- Hide quoted text -

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No, the main stream media does a great job of telling the story of
anything the republicans do.. Just trying to even the playing field.
This is not the first time Feinstein has been caught feeding her
husbands business though...- Hide quoted text -

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Yeah, the Republicans would never do anything like that......

http://www.pacificviews.org/weblog/archives/001706.html

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/grandolddocket.php

And let's not forget the bridge to nowhere!!