Jackson Gets Evicted: White House Officials Questioned His ‘Ability To Continue To Lead The Agency’
Jackson Gets Evicted: White House Officials Questioned His ‘Ability To Continue To Lead The Agency’
Today, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced his resignation, effective April 18, marking the exit of one of Bush’s few remaining holdovers from Texas. CNN’s Ed Henry reports that Jackson is departing because he has “been struggling privately” with ethics allegations. Watch it:
The Washington Post reports that officials summoned Jackson to the White House last Monday, and “discussed his ability to continue to lead the agency.” Jackson faces ongoing probes “by a federal grand jury, the Justice Department, the FBI and the HUD inspector general.” At least five lawmakers have called on Jackson to resign, including Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Barney Frank (D-MA).
In May 2007, Jackson testified to Congress, “I don’t touch contracts.” In retrospect, that statement appears to have been at best a gross inaccuracy, and at worst, an outright lie. A look at Jackson’s tenure of incompetence and corruption:
Loyalty Over Merits: During a speech on April 28, 2006, Jackson recounted a conversation he had with a prospective contractor who had a “heck of a proposal.” This contractor, however, told Jackson, “I don’t like President Bush.” Jackson subsequently refused to award the man the contract. A former HUD assistant secretary confirmed that Jackson told agency employees to “consider presidential supporters when you are considering the selected candidates for discretionary contracts.”
Political Retaliation: In 2006, Jackson allegedly demanded that the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) “transfer a $2 million public property” at a “substantial discount” to Kenny Gamble, a developer, former soul-music songwriter, and friend of Jackson’s. When PHA director Carl Greene refused, Jackson and his aides called Philadelphia’s mayor and “followed up with ‘menacing’ threats about the property and other housing programs in at least a dozen letters and phone calls over an 11-month period.”
Contracts For Golfing Buddies: In October 2007, federal investigators looked into whether, after Hurricane Katrina, Jackson lined up an emergency “no-bid contract” at the HUD-controlled Housing Authority of New Orleans for “golfing buddy” and friend William Hairston. According to HUD, the emergency contract paid Hairston $392,000 over a year and a half; Hairston’s partner companies also received “direct contracts” with HUD. One of the companies which received a contract in New Orleans, Columbia Residential, had “significant financial ties to Jackson.” Jackson’s wife also had “ties to two companies that did business with the New Orleans authority.”
Awarding Corrupt Companies: Shirlington Limousine and Transportation Inc. is the firm that defense contractor Brent Wilkes used to “transport congressmen, CIA officials, and perhaps prostitutes to his Washington parties.” The firm’s president had a “lengthy history of illegal activity,” detailed in his 62-page rap-sheet, and his limo company “operates in what looks to be a deliberately murky way.” Despite all this, Jackson’s HUD awarded Shirlington a contract worth $519,823.
Lucrative Salaries For Cronies: Atlanta lawyer Michael Hollis, another Jackson friend, “appears to have been paid approximately $1 million for managing the troubled Virgin Islands Housing Authority,” despite having “no experience in running a public housing agency.” A “top Jackson aide” reportedly made it clear to officials within HUD that “Jackson wanted Hollis” for the job. Hollis received more than four times the salary of his predecessor.
The Corner comments that it’s “remarkable is that amid some sizable problems in the housing market, most Americans couldn’t name the Secretary of HUD.” But while Jackson was busy erecting giant photo homages to himself, the nation was spiraling into the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression. It’s therefore not surprising that the Bush administration hasn’t given Jackson a higher profile.
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Another crooked BushitCo footsoldier caught with his entire arm, up to the armpit in the cookie jar, handing out taxpayer money to friends and cronies.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:40 amHeckuva job looting our tax dollars, Jackie!
Secretary Jackson’s Report Card
Housing….F
Urban Development….F
Cronyism….A+++++++
March 31st, 2008 at 10:40 amhe has “been struggling privately” with ethics allegations.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:42 amWhat the hell does that bafflegab mean?
Indictment in three. . . two. . . one. . .
Bush may have to pardon this one before the trial. Time is running short after all.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:43 am“The shrine of St. Alphonso (at the site of his garage) will soon be accepting visitors. There will be no charge for viewing images of the poor, politically marytred True Believer in the days before his sacrifice, but donations will humbly be accepted in a basket, located next to the water heater, to defray the costs of his per- er… prosecution.“
March 31st, 2008 at 10:44 amRePUGs have this awful thing with the HUD dept. It seems like the from Nixon on, his handpicked man has been lining his pockets.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:50 amWhere’s the enforcement of what Perino stated? No more departures from this administration after (sometime last year).
March 31st, 2008 at 10:50 amBusiness as usual in the Dinkledorf administration. Gosh! Can you imagine the level of corruption necessary for someone to resign from this administration? Boggles the mind!
March 31st, 2008 at 10:51 amAlphonso has made good personal networks with his government position.
Alphonso Jackson and William Haynes…off to Private Life ™.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:52 amWhat is “private life” anyway? More time to shop the specials at JCPenney?
March 31st, 2008 at 10:54 amBy the look of the shrine, you’d think he’d be HUD’s Martin Luther King.
March 31st, 2008 at 11:00 amHe’ll be charging 30,000 a pop to speak at Universities.
March 31st, 2008 at 11:00 amA little pardon here, a little pardon there, pardons all around. How about it folks, thats the next step for cases coming down while Bushco is still in office. I hope perhaps that some of these jerk-hoffs don’t get get the wake up call from the courts till January of next year.
March 31st, 2008 at 11:01 amSeeing as Jacko didn’t get the usual Friday afternoon send off, what other story are the Bushies looking to head-off?
March 31st, 2008 at 11:02 amAh, yes. *ANOTHER* crook who wants to “spend more time with his family.”
OK. Yeah, right. *eyeroll*
March 31st, 2008 at 11:21 amDoes he get to take all the shrine pictures with him? Perhaps this is why his resignation isn’t effective for almost three weeks from now — it takes time to get shrines moved.
March 31st, 2008 at 11:27 am“been struggling privately” with ethics allegations
When did ethics or morality start bothering the conscience of these sociopathic sycophants?
Isn’t it customary of this administration to reward inept performance?
March 31st, 2008 at 11:33 ambarfly Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 10:44 am
“The shrine of St. Alphonso (at the site of his garage) will soon be accepting visitors.”
________
At Saint Alphonzo’s Pancake Breakfast
March 31st, 2008 at 11:42 amWhere I stole the mar-juh-reen
An’ widdled on the Bingo Cards in lieu of the latrine
I saw a handsome parish lady
Make her entrance like a queen
Why she was totally chenille
And her old man was a Marine
As she abused a sausage pattie
And said why don’t you treat me mean?
(Hurt me, hurt me, hurt me, oooooh!)
At Saint Alphonzo’s Pancake Breakfast
(Hah! Good God! Get off the bus!)
Where I stole the mar-juh-reen . . .
Gin Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 11:47 am
Just another example of affirmative action and the Peter Principle at work.
______
That’s true. None of this would be happening if Bush had appointed a corrupt white crony as HUD Secretary.
March 31st, 2008 at 11:51 amJust another episode of BushitCo’s Kronies R’ Us.
March 31st, 2008 at 12:12 pm“Stepping down, oh yes, we must not can his ass! He’s stepping down to spend more time with his family uh huh. Bush sure hired a bunch of bums. I sure hope it doesn’t reflect on Bush’s LE GACY. Bush better have plenty of shelves in that LIBARRY at SMU where he can store all of the indictments against his picks for “pubic service.”
March 31st, 2008 at 12:51 pm#18: Best Zappa reference of the year thus far. Kudos.
March 31st, 2008 at 1:02 pmCouldn’t agree more. We must end this nation’s policy of appointing unqualified people to important positions, using family history and connections as the sole criterion. This never would have happened if Bush had not been appointed president. Heck, this never would have happened if Bush had been denied admission to Yale.
March 31st, 2008 at 1:20 pmLook Alfonso Jackson wasn’t just a “Token” black for Bush, he’s also a “Crook”. I can say that because I call them like I see them. Let look at my comments fairly before anyone starts jumping to conclusions. The reason for my “token” comment is prefectly obvious. Just look at all of those black elected Republican Congressman and Senators. Sorry, there are none, that’s right there are NONE. Why? Ask the inclusive Republican voters. Second, the “Crook” comment. The FBI just doesn’t go around investigating Republicans under a Republican administration unlike they know that person is a crook.
Third, since the Republican voters don’t vote for “Black Conservatives”, that tells you something about them and their party. Forth, just look at the number of elected African American Congressmen, Congresswomen, and Sen. Obama. None of these people would be in office if they were Republicans. There have only been two Blacks elected Republicans since reconstruction. Sen. Brooks R-Mass, and J.C. Watts, R-OK, and Watts won the College Football National Championship and the University of Oklahoma, so that’s why he was elected. Other than that look at the guy who ran for the Senate in Ohio, Ken Blackwell, he lost to a Democrat in a heavyly Republican state. Then there was NFL Hall of Famer, Pittsburgh Steeler, and greatest receiver to ever play Football, Lynn Swann-Republican who ran for Government of Pennslyvania, the lost to Ed Rendell.
If all of my examples don’t show how Republicans really think, then you must be living in another Country. Lets face it, Republican have to have one or two token around to avoid the inevitable conclusion that they don’t really like black people.
March 31st, 2008 at 1:35 pmThe token got caught. I agree with you. If you are republican and black you are a token.
How can you ignore the fact a 3rd of the republican party changed there name from Southern Dixecrats to what now makes up portions of the social and christian cons.
Form the 70’s to the early eighties the Republican party was known as the party of Racists.
There still around.
March 31st, 2008 at 1:57 pmSounds like a typical Bush Crony, not out of the norm for the Bush Mafia.
March 31st, 2008 at 2:38 pm#25 ”It was terrible,” says Sen. Christopher Dodd, who helped craft reforms in 2002 that were supposed to prevent such electoral abuses. ”People waiting in line for twelve hours to cast their ballots, people not being allowed to vote because they were in the wrong precinct — it was an outrage. In Ohio, you had a secretary of state who was determined to guarantee a Republican outcome. I’m terribly disheartened.”
This is why Ken Blackwell did not win the election in Ohio. He was corrupt. Approximately 1 of every 4 votes cast in Ohio were not counted because of him.
A review of the available data reveals that in Ohio alone, at least 357,000 voters, the overwhelming majority of them Democratic, were prevented from casting ballots or did not have their votes counted in 2004.
He went on record saying how proud he was that he prevented voter fraud. I’m glad the State of Ohio finally showed him the door….
March 31st, 2008 at 3:32 pmFunny, how times have changed: During the 1990s, peactically every Clinton Administration official came under scrutiny just because he was a member of the Clinton administration. I remember one guy was investigated and fined for lying to the FBI about how much money he’d paid an ex-girlfriend (never understood why they were even asking, but he supposedly said he’d paid her less than he actuallly had).
But now that honor has been restored to the White House by Georgejr & Dickie, all that happens when their cronies go too far (and it has to be EXTREMELY egregious) in malfeasance is they resign and spend (”spend” being the operative word, as they leave with substantial ill-gotten gains to spend) more time with their family. No investigation, no prosecution, just fade away into their next hightly paid influence peddling gig. And the prerequisite for even getting hired by the Bush administration seems to be a prior RECORD of having perpetrated similar crimes, before.
AMAZING!!
March 31st, 2008 at 3:46 pmGlad the HUD secretary and slumlord Jackson is gone. Another one bites the dust. And he should take his shrine with him out the door.
March 31st, 2008 at 4:05 pmI smell another Presidential Medal of Freedom.
March 31st, 2008 at 4:48 pmsince the Republican voters don’t vote for “Black Conservatives”, that tells you something about them and their party. Forth, just look at the number of elected African American Congressmen, Congresswomen, and Sen. Obama. None of these people would be in office if they were Republicans. There have only been two Blacks elected Republicans since reconstruction. Sen. Brooks R-Mass, and J.C. Watts, R-OK, and Watts won the College Football National Championship and the University of Oklahoma, so that’s why he was elected. Other than that look at the guy who ran for the Senate in Ohio, Ken Blackwell, he lost to a Democrat in a heavyly Republican state. Then there was NFL Hall of Famer, Pittsburgh Steeler, and greatest receiver to ever play Football, Lynn Swann-Republican who ran for Government of Pennslyvania, the lost to Ed Rendell.
If all of my examples don’t show how Republicans really think, then you must be living in another compaq evo n400 battery,compaq armada e500 battery Country. Lets face it, Republican have to have one or two token around to avoid the inevitable conclusion that they don’t really like black people.
October 15th, 2008 at 4:22 am