The Washington Times is reporting today that Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) took unusual steps to route route taxpayer dollars to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. which had just awarded her husband’s firm a lucrative contract:
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.
Most ethical congress in history??? Not! At the very least Sen. Feinstein’s actions represent a serious conflict of interest and breach of public trust… What they look like however is scheme to allow her family to cash in on taxpayer-funded bailout money.
Related
- Feinstein routes government money to firm doing business with husband – Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
- Wash Times: Democrat Sen. Feinstein Helped her Husband’s Firm to the Tune of $25B – Kim Priestap, Wizbang
- Connecting the dots in Feinstein’s intervention with FDIC – Rick Moran, American Thinker
- Feinstein Inc. – Don Surber
Not too many people know that Feinstein and husband Blum control CBRichard Ellis – that they did not know is a farce about the intervention and the potential pay-off at the tax payers expense.
We need a concerted effort to eradicate this type of abusive and baltant “piracy”!