NYT plans to look into Obama's finances: according to Drudge

[bigdarryl]

If true why just Obama's finances? Unless theres some questioning about money he's made or something criminal I think this is grasping at straws. All the candidates finances should be looked at.

[David Dunham]

1. It's the land he bought near his house.

A supporter allegedly sold it to him dirt cheap.

[illinoisprogressive]

4. Actually the guy is a political operative who bought the vacant property

next door as Obama was buying his house. The whole thing was out and in the open. Chi Tribune has the whole skinny on it. And nothing was illegal or wrong. Just stupid. But, you can find the story on Archpundit and Chicago Tribune or Sun Times.

[papau]

8. neighbor is Antoin "Tony" Rezko of Federal indictment fame who sold part of land as a favor to Obama

But Obama seems totally clean unless just the sale of 1/6th of a small lot decreases it's value more than Obama paid for it (he paid 1/6th of the price of the lot).

[Colobo]

2. Well, let's see

It's probably nothing, but let's wait and see...

[illinoisprogressive]

3. they all release their financial statements. Why just Obama?

[paulk]

5. why not wait until the article comes out

instead of listening to (and repeating) what a piece of right wing shit like Matt Drudge says....

[joeprogressive]

6. but Drudge has never been wrong has he?

n/t

[bigdarryl]

7. Drudge jumps on a story before he knows the facts like the Hillary story when she...

spoke at that church. he was trying to say because she was at a southern church she was trying to act like she was a from the south. he was wrong she was talking from a script and Drudge jumped on Hillary's case before he knew what the complete story was. the Obama story my be bullshit also.

[joeprogressive]

9. I was being sarcastic

Drudge has botched several stories. I'm surprised he hasn't lost some lawsuits.

[SaveElmer]

27. You mean the story that you were pushing just a couple days ago...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=3146042

You have alot of nerve I'll give you that!

[wyldwolf]

10. Obama is a (gasp!) Corporatist!!

THS is not a criticism of Obama. Obama did what most in power do - he paid for political support. In this instance, through purchasing stock in companies AFTER they donated to his senate campaign.

No, this is more a statement about his primary supporters who are so busy chasing every rightwing spit-up about the Clintons that they seem to have (giving you the benefit of the doubt) missed this one:

Less than two months after ascending to the United States Senate, Barack Obama bought more than $50,000 worth of stock in two speculative companies whose major investors included some of his biggest political donors.

One of the companies was a biotech concern that was starting to develop a drug to treat avian flu. In March 2005, two weeks after buying about $5,000 of its shares, Mr. Obama took the lead in a legislative push for more federal spending to battle the disease.

The most recent financial disclosure form for Mr. Obama, an Illinois Democrat, also shows that he bought more than $50,000 in stock in a satellite communications business whose principal backers include four friends and donors who had raised more than $150,000 for his political committees.

There is no evidence that any of his actions ended up benefiting either company during the roughly eight months that he owned the stocks.

Even so, the stock purchases raise questions about how he could unwittingly come to invest in two relatively obscure companies, whose backers happen to include generous contributors to his political committees. Among those donors was Jared Abbruzzese, a New York businessman now at the center of an F.B.I. inquiry into public corruption in Albany, who had also contributed to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group that sought to undermine John Kerry’s Democratic presidential campaign in 2004.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/us/politics/07obama.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

What would/do "progressives" call this when a moderate is questioned in this regard? Corporatism and other unsavory labels.

[bklyncowgirl]

11. Doesn't seem to be much there there.

He was pushing for money for the government to do something about Avian Flu (good) not for contracts to a particular company in which he had investments. He sold the stocks when he realized he had them.

[wyldwolf]

12. yeah. A likely story

:sarcasm:

[flpoljunkie]

13. "Mr. Obama's broker bought the stocks w/o consulting the senator, under terms of a blind trust..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/us/politics/07obama.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all

A spokesman for Mr. Obama, who is seeking his party’s presidential nomination in 2008, said yesterday that the senator did not know that he had invested in either company until fall 2005, when he learned of it and decided to sell the stocks. He sold them at a net loss of $13,000.

The spokesman, Bill Burton, said Mr. Obama’s broker bought the stocks without consulting the senator, under the terms of a blind trust that was being set up for the senator at that time but was not finalized until several months after the investments were made.

“He went about this process to avoid an actual or apparent conflict of interest, and he had no knowledge of the stocks he owned,” Mr. Burton said. “And when he realized that he didn’t have the level of blindness that he expected, he moved to terminate the trust.”

[Tellurian]

15. Thats amazing..

How did that stockbroker know to pick not one, but two, of the stocks Obama's
contributors represented, out of the millions of stocks in existence?

"And then Obama two weeks after buying about $5,000 of its shares, Mr. Obama took
the lead in a legislative push for more federal spending to battle the disease".

Well, the Republicans can get away with anything, we're aware of that. If the stockbroker
is lying, then by association, it will wash over onto Obama. Thats how they do things.

[flpoljunkie]

17. Yes. "If the stockbroker is lying, then by association, it will wash over Obama."

[Tellurian]

25. Yep, thats the way the Repubs engineer a SMEAR..

They will question WHY hasn't Obama fired him, if he still maintains his services.
Republicans can make a mountain out of a mole hill then expand on it exponentially.

I've seen enough of it with the Clintons.

[ieoeja]

21. Gee, it's almost like people who knew Obama also knew each other.

But that would be weird. I am pretty certain none of my friends know each other. I just make the point of only ever spending time with one friend at a time. It makes for great birthdays as I happen to have exactly 24 friends. So I simply spend one hour partying with each friend.

:sarcasm:

[Tellurian]

26. The point is, Obama 's campaign is based on ETHICS..

so the Repugs know where to dig and what to attack.

[BL611]

29. Obama did not buy the stocks

They were bought through a blind trust he has no say in,Coincidence? No, that a local stock broker would but a local stock of a local company for a client on the day that federal subsides were approved for the company makes perfect sense. Obviously we should see how the story plays out, but so far there is no evidence of any wrong doing whatsoever.

[SaveElmer]

14. Yeah that's rich...coming from the master of the Hillary hit piece...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=3146042

[ellacott]

19. That's very intersting isn't it. n/t

[NYCGirl]

22. I wouldn't call bigdarryl the master of anything.

More like a clumsy practitioner of the hit piece.

[Mass]

16. Keyword here is according to Drudge! Let's wait and see.

[zulchzulu]

18. Republicans are for success...unless if it's a Democrat

I read the article, which is a maze of investments here, sold there at a loss and standing up for things like the Avian Flu.

I'd boil down the story, but I'll see what happens today. It's not like this is a new story...

[flpoljunkie]

20. We don't know who recommended this unnamed USB broker to Obama, but he did Obama no favors.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the Democrat, who has been campaigning on his push for congressional ethics reform, did not know that his broker at USB bought the stocks under a blind trust that was being set up at the time.

Burton said Obama ended the blind trust after he got a stockholder letter in the mail. Obama could not remember whether the mail was from AVI, Skyterra or another company he was invested in, Burton said, but he "realized he didn't have the level of blindness he expected" and sold the stocks in November 2005.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR2007030700611.html

[flpoljunkie]

23. From the Obama campaign...

from the Obama campaign..

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/03/sweet_blog_special_obama_gets.html

THE NEW YORK TIMES:

“There is no evidence that any of actions ended up benefiting either company during the roughly eight months that he owned the stocks…

SOLD THEM AT A NET LOSS OF $13,000.”

In 2005, Barack Obama entered into a trust agreement -- the terms of which did not permit his stockbroker to solicit advice from Obama or consult him on the trades that were being made – to manage his stock portfolio. As the New York Times reports today, Obama owned stock in two companies which he did nothing to help – an investment that lost him $13,000. At the end of a thorough examination of Senator Obama’s portfolio, it’s apparent that his dealings were completely above board and his decisions were proactively made in the interest of avoiding the potential for conflict.

THE FACTS

Obama Set Up a Trust That Would Independently Manage His Funds. In February of 2005, Obama began the process of creating a trust – the terms of which do not permit the broker to solicit advice from Obama or consult him on the trades that are being made – in an attempt to manage his financial portfolio without a conflict of interest. The intent was that this was a portfolio that would grow over time.

UBS Broker Chose Stocks For Obama; Obama Was Not Consulted. A UBS broker chose the stocks for Obama to invest in, and as per the trust agreement, Obama was not consulted. On Obama’s behalf, the broker purchased $1,001 to $15,000 of Avi BioPharma on 2/22/05 and $50,001 to $100,000 of SkyTerra on 2/10/05.

Obama Closed Trust Because He Realized It Was Not Truly Blind. In late 2005, after receiving an informational communication from his broker about his investments, Obama realized that his financial arrangements did not significantly protect him against even the perception of a conflict of interest. He contacted his lawyer and steps were taken to sell his stocks and close out the trust. Obama’s stock holdings were liquidated by November 1, 2005, and documents to close the trust were filed on December 15, 2005.

Obama Made Less Than $2,500 On AVI BioPharma; Sold Stock As It Finally Began To Trend Upward. UBS purchased AVI BioPharma on Obama’s behalf when it was $2.57 a share in February of 2005, and sold it in October of 2005 at $3.30 a share, for a profit of less than $2,500. The stock price wavered throughout the summer, took a dip to $2.15 in August, and only started to recover at the end of September.

Obama Lost $15,000 On SkyTerra. UBS purchased SkyTerra on Obama’s behalf when it was $36.35 a share in February of 2005, and sold it in November of 2005 at $30.49 a share, for a loss of approximately $15,000.

NO EVIDENCE THAT OBAMA TOOK ANY OFFICIAL ACTION TO HELP COMPANIES

AVI BIOPHARMA


Obama’s Office Took No Action On Behalf of Avi BioPharma. Obama’s Senate office did not have any interaction with or take any action on behalf of Avi BioPharma. Company executives have had no interactions with Obama, company officials said they never talked to Obama about his work on avian flu, and they were not aware of his buying and selling in AVI shares.

Obama’s Senate Bill Addressed Preparedness And Early Warning Systems For Avian Flu in Asia, Did Not Fund New Drug Development. Obama’s bill was focused on developing early warning systems for avian flu and encouraged NIH to expand research on influenza but did not fund authorize new drug development.

Legislation Proposed By Obama and Others Had No Positive Impact on Avi BioPharma Stock. Obama and eight cosponsors introduced his avian flu bill (S. 969) on April 28th, 2005. On the day the bill was introduced, the price actually dropped slightly ($2.71 a share to $2.68 a share). The stock price also dropped during the week the bill was introduced; on April 26th, the stock opened at $2.80 a share, and the price dropped over the next six days, closing at $2.49 on May 4th, 2005.

Bipartisan Senate Amendment Cosponsored By Obama Did Not Earmark Funds for Particular Companies. The bipartisan Harkin amendment, which Obama cosponsored, provided $3.8 billion related to the flu and included funding for new drug development. However, it did not direct funds to individual companies.

Amendment Passed By Full Senate Had No Positive Impact on Avi BioPharma Stock. Obama was one of 15 cosponsors on a Harkin amendment that included funding for drugs designed to combat the avian flu. The amendment was introduced on October 26th, 2005 and passed the next day. On the day the amendment passed, the price actually dropped 21 cents ($3.63 a share to $3.42 a share). The stock price dropped from $3.94 from the day the bill was introduced to $3.56 on October 31, 2005, a drop of 38 cents.

Avi BioPharma Did Not Receive Contract For Stockpiling Drugs Or Any Federal Money For Its Avian Flu Research. “AVI spokeswoman Jenny Moede says the company, based in Portland, Ore., has collaborated with various agencies of the federal government to test its technology on animals. It has not yet been used on humans, and the government has yet to stockpile any of its drugs.” The company confirmed to the New York Times that “it still has not received any federal money for its avian flu research.”

Avi BioPharma Did Not Tout Senate Action Connected To Obama In Press Releases Or Conference Calls. A review of Avi BioPharma’s press releases from 2005 shows that they did not tout any Senate actions connected to Obama in either press releases or conference calls. <http://www.antivirals.com/press_2005.html>

Money Avi BioPharma Received Was Unconnected to Obama Or Avian Flu. In October 2005, AVI BioPharma preliminarily announced DoD funding for research on four viruses. That funding was unconnected to Obama and was not related to research on avian flu. The press release from the company stated, “AVI BioPharma, Inc…announced that the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations has approved $22 million for AVI’s research and development programs as part of the FY2006 defense spending bill…the spending bill would direct $22 million to AVI for the continued development of technology to test for and find therapeutic agents for Ebola ($6 million) and Marburg ($6 million) viruses, and anthrax and ricin toxins ($4 million). In addition, the allocation includes new funding for an AVI project to test for and find therapeutic agents for dengue virus ($6 million).” AVI BioPharma eventually received $11 million in the DOD Appropriations bill for 2006.


SKYTERRA

Obama’s Office Took No Action On Behalf Of SkyTerra. Obama’s Senate office did not take any action on behalf of SkyTerra. A spokesman for Skyterra said the company’s top officials had not been aware of Mr. Obama’s investment.


CORRECTING THE RECORD: REZKO

NYT: The Obamas House Sat On A Large Property Subdivided to Make It More Affordable

FACT: The original seller divided the land into parcels for individual purchase prior to the Obamas interest in the house and bid on the house.

Posted by Lynn Sweet on March 7, 2007 09:42 AM | Permalink

[Connie_Corleone]

24. Obama has one of hell of a response team!

:thumbsup:

[Colobo]

33. Excellent

They are stepping up to the plate and not letting the smear merchants get away with it!

[beachmom]

28. Obama received money from a Swift Boat financier -- he needs to

give it back NOW!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/us/politics/07obama.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp


The rest of the article I will reserve judgment on. But the SBVT donor is indisputable fact, and Obama needs to take care of this today.

[flpoljunkie]

31. Perhaps this is why Obama, Edwards are not accepting PAC money in their presidential campaigns--

unlike Hillary Clinton. Senator Kerry also accepted no PAC money for his presidential campaign, and neither does he acceot it for his Senate campaigns. We need more Senator Kerrys in the Congress.

[zulchzulu]

32. Abbruzzese isn't convicted yet. Obama should keep his contribution as it stands now

From the NYT article:
"Even so, the stock purchases raise questions about how he could unwittingly come to invest in two relatively obscure companies, whose backers happen to include generous contributors to his political committees. Among those donors was Jared Abbruzzese, a New York businessman now at the center of an F.B.I. inquiry into public corruption in Albany, who had also contributed to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group that sought to undermine John Kerry’s Democratic presidential campaign in 2004."

I'm not sure Obama needs to return money given to his political committees from someone who also contributed to the SBVFT crowd. If that is the case, then all contributions given to Obama (or any candidate) has to thread through and all of their other contributions to see if there are questionable contributions to other groups.

If that is the case, then all candidates would have to return a LOT of money. What if CITIGroup gives money to both a Democrat and a Republican? Some contributors can give to 527s (like SBVFT) that don't neccessarily have an obvious agenda.

It is unfortunate that Abbruzzese would contribute to the Swiftie Scum, but if political contributions had to go through a very scrutinous purity screening, campaigns would come to a standstill.

[pampango]

30. Better now than later. I like Obama. If there is nothing to this,

it will make him stronger. If there is anything to it, it is better to find out about it now.

What do they say? "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger."