Wait, I'm supposed to PAY taxes? And what are all these microphones for?
This may prove to be the most difficult day for PEOTUS Barack Obama’s otherwise seamless transition as two high level appointees are expected to face tough questions from lawmakers today. Treasury Secretary-Designate Timothy Geithner ran into trouble yesterday when news broke that he had bungled his taxes a few years ago (read: didn’t to pay them) AND employed a nanny who was in the country illegally. In his defense, Geithner forgot to pay $34,000 to Uncle Sam while at the IMF, which, as an international organization, doesn’t automatically deduct taxes from employees. As for his nanny, her visa expired after she had been working for the Geithners for several years, and she was employed illegally for only a few months.
Still, Geithner should be okay. ”I think this is an honest mistake,” Sen. John Kerry, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, told NBC’s “Today,” yesterday (two days before tomorrow).
But Attorney General-Designate Eric Holder may face tougher criticism from law makers, especially regarding President Clinton’s pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich. Also in question is Clinton’s 1999 decision to grant clemency to 16 violent Puerto Rican nationalists; Sen. Arlen Specter has invited the son of a man killed by nationalists in 1975 in an attempt to derail Holders appointment, Politico reports.
