Corporate Hedge Fund Lawyer Who Attacked Obama Now Clams Up: ‘I Have No Comment’
Corporate Hedge Fund Lawyer Who Attacked Obama Now Clams Up: ‘I Have No Comment’
Tom Lauria, a lawyer representing “a small group of speculators” who forced Chrysler into bankruptcy because they wanted a few more cents on the dollar, made a stunning allegation against the Obama White House on a conservative talk show last Friday.
Lauria claimed that one of his former clients — Perella Weinberg — withdrew its opposition to the government deal because the White House threatened “that the full force of the White House press corps would destroy its reputation if it continued to fight.”
Lauria was not a first-hand witness to the alleged threat. Both the parties involved — the White House and Perella — disputed Lauria’s accusation. Nevertheless, ABC’s Jake Tapper reported Lauria’s claims, and his story was propagated on Fox News and Rush Limbaugh’s show.
Now, Tom Lauria is clamming up, refusing to stand by his earlier accusations against the White House. Neil Cavuto pressed him last night on Fox Business:
LAURIA: I have a former client in connection with this matter who is a client in connection with other matters who doesn’t appreciate all the attention that’s been brought to bear on that. So I have no further comment on that topic.
CAVUTO: Alright, well, this issue was raised by you. And now you’re not gonna talk about it?
LAURIA: I have no further comment. [...] I really don’t want to talk about this topic at this point. [...]
CAVUTO: You started out making a comment, and now you dropped it. It’s just weird, that’s all I’m saying.
This morning on Fox News, host Megyn Kelly tried another approach. “Can I ask you this? Have you made public statements that are untrue?” Lauria would not even dispute that he is lying. Instead, he said, “The truth is gonna come out.”
Lauria was asked eight separate times in two appearances on Fox to explain his earlier comments. And eight separate times, he refused to stand by his story. Watch it:
The right-wing media will undoubtedly continue pushing the story, despite the fact that there are now no sources who say it is credible or defend it.
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Corporate hedge fund lawyer…
They always tell the truth!
May 5th, 2009 at 11:09 amWhy did this guy even appear on Fox if he wasn’t going to say anything about the reason he was invited to appear on Fox?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:10 amFoxSnooze will just eat this up. Without further comment from Lauria, they will be free to spin and spin and spin.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:10 amCould we get a lie detector and hook it up to a high voltage generator under the TV newscasters’s chairs ?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:11 amI guess this is the ‘Accurate’ part of the ‘Fair and Balanced’ mantra…
Bwahaha
May 5th, 2009 at 11:12 amAh . . . so the ‘progressives’ are out in force . . .ops, only one plus writer . . . you can all feel the truth to this, can’t you? You ‘progressives’ seem very uninformed as to what a hedge fund is, but I’m not explaining it to you. You may already be invested in one or more. Try reading the objection filed by Mr. Lauria in bankruptcy court. The administration is operating in an UNCONSTITUTIONAL manner in this bankruptcy. Unfortunately, I suspect neither the administration nor all the ‘progressives’ out there care about a little thing called the U.S. Constitution. Too bad, because it’s a lrge part of why this has been such a great nation.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:14 amAre you talking about that thing Arbusto called a GD piece of paper LieberTerryan?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:16 amUnfortunately this is how our main stream media works nowadays. Third hand allegations are reported as fact. When the two primary parties deny the fact, the ball just keeps on rolling. When the third party refuses to confirm or deny the truthiness of his original statement the ball just keeps on rolling. What happened to the days of investigative reporting and fact checking? All we get now are, “un-named sources say…” or, “some say blah blah blah”. Every network is so intent on scooping the other networks by quoting un-named sources without considering the most viable possibility that they are being fed a shit sandwich hoping that the lie grows legs. Pitiful. Any bets on FOX twisting this non-story in a way that alleges that the fascist Obama Administration must have put the screws to poor Lauria and forced him to clam up? They’ve probably allready created the graphics to run with this story and are feaverishly working out the verbiage for the perpetual Obama bashing chyron.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:16 amSounds like he simply doesn’t want to admit that he was LYING – just like all good Repbulicons continually do. SO WHY DID HE BRING IT UP IN THE FIRST PLACE? WHY BOTHER TO GO ON FAUXSNOOZE AT ALL?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:17 amSo where does the constitution talk about lobbyists or bailing out investment banks and auto makers LiberTerry?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:18 amLiberTerryan Says:
NOW they want to defend the Constitution????
Where were you 8 years ago?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:18 amNothing resembling a fact. Interesting.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:20 amLiberTerryan –
And your point is what?
Lauria was not even “in the room” when the alleged threat was made. Both the White House and the hedge fund itself has denied his second-hand version of what transpired.
Now, he is declining further comment — probably because he made it all up in the first place.
Real journalists confirm their facts with two sources before reporting them. FoxSnooze, Drudge, Limpballs, Little Seanie Vanity, et. al., are not constrained by journalistic standards so this suspect story will keep circulating until Lauria retracts his false claim.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:21 amHedge fund: thats what AIG had that they lost their behind on by insuring derivative bets they couldnt even begin to cover…
Some great ‘Hedge’ huh?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:24 amTypical liberal crap. Where was I eight years ago . . . that’s an excellent way to change the subject like you liberals like to do whenever one of yours is caught. No chance the zero is bringing pressure to bear, huh? I sure hope the dream world you guys live in is nice.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:24 amLiberTerryan Says: #6
How would you know anything about the Constitution since your god ’shrub’ shat all over it [in every conceivable manner] and then flushed it when he ordered the torture of other human beings. Why do you think we despised his policies, actions and rhetoric so damn much?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:24 amWhy does it matter if the White House threatened these guys with ‘exposure’ anyway? Am I hearing that the right wing would be APPALLED if the White House coerced a small group of rich investors to cave on monetary demands by exposing their greed to the media, but that it’s AOK to torture, break international law, and invade countries based on lies?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:24 amWhere do you MSM guys check their facts, the NY Times? Or perhaps, direct to the source, like the zero can even tell the difference between truth and fiction.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:26 amMore amazing insight. Really, your powers of analysis and deduction are breathtaking.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:26 amYou may already be invested in one or more.
Complete and utter stupidity.
Unless your net worth is in the MILLIONS, you can’t even begin to invest in a Hedge Fund, idiot.
My wife has been the portfolio admin for 2 hedge funds over the past two decades.
You couldn’t be farther from the truth if you were dead.
NEXT TROLL PLEASE…
May 5th, 2009 at 11:27 amGee, machost, sure hope international law keeps the nut jobs away from your house!
May 5th, 2009 at 11:27 amWell this was on topic…
May 5th, 2009 at 11:28 amDNFP, ask you wife, since you obviously don’t know, if funds ever invest in hedge funds, moron!
May 5th, 2009 at 11:28 amCorrect me if I am wrong but it looks like this firm “hedged” their bets that there would be another forthcoming bail-out. They gambled and lost. That’s what they do. Sounds like the free markets are working. Where’s the beef exactly?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:29 amthat’s an excellent way to change the subject like you liberals like to do whenever one of yours is caught.
No one changed the subject as YOU were talking about the constitution and you didnt complain about it being abrogated years ago and besides that you havent proven that this bankruptcy deal is doing that, sir.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:30 amDon’t hold your breath waiting for an answer. These dumbass libertarians toss out the word unconstitutional with every subject, whether it relates or not. They think it makes them sound smart. It’s like Joe the Plumber saying that people don’t understand the dictionary.
Most so-called “Libertarians” don’t even know their own party platform, much less the Constitution.
Oh, and here’s another little secret. Libertarians only vote for Republicans. They are just ashamed to admit it.
The fools.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:32 amLiberTerryan Says: Typical liberal crap.
Ad-Hominem subject changing are we?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:32 amIn other words, you don’t want to explain why you voted for George W. Bush…TWICE!
May 5th, 2009 at 11:33 am…Is another one you need to read. I think the Illuminati will agree, you are a moron. Watch out! Your upstairs neighbor’s toilet is caving-in on you. Idiot!
This guy sounds suspiciously like the Wacko Jayko fella.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:36 amA. That sounds like an unethical/borderline illegal way to skirt SEC regulations.
B. That sounds incredibly lazy/inefficient on the part of the management of the mutual fund.
C. I’ve never heard of that happening. Do you have an example of a fund with a hedge fund in its portfolio?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:37 amMost so-called “Libertarians” don’t even know their own party platform, much less the Constitution.
They want more personal liberty by giving corporate greed free reign, like that what caused the financial mess requiring trillions in guarantees and bailouts…how does that work exactly?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:37 amCheck out this list of acronyms created to bail out the ‘free-market’
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FM71j6-VkNE/SdtlA4Xh6-I/AAAAAAAABuA/Ni6uhIIQCFY/s1600-h/bailout1.jpg
Alphabet soup..
May 5th, 2009 at 11:39 amLiberTerryan, you’re missing the point: Perella Weinberg is disputing Lauria’s accusation. Also, he was not a first-hand witness to the alleged threat. As an attorney, he should know better than to rely on hearsay. You state “You ‘progressives’ seem very uninformed as to what a hedge fund is…” I scrolled through the comments and could not find any that discussed the nature of hedge funds, so I don’t know what you’re talking about. Most apalling is that you are so accepting of Lauria’s version of what is or is not unconstitutional. Too bad you don’t care about a little thing called context, which is a large part of what makes yours not such a great argument.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:40 amDoes anyone need to try,
to destroy the “reputation” of a hedge fund lawyer??
I don’t see the Pres. as a real dead-horse kicker type guy.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:41 amWouldn’t NOW be the best time to begin regulating hedge funds? There have been many attempts in the past two several years but they were blocked time and again by lobby efforts and Republican obstruction. An estimated 75% of the world’s hedge funds are based in the Cayman Islands due to the tax shelters and lack of regulation. I’ve said this before, if corporations aren’t paying their share of US taxes they should not be afforded the rights of American citizens to lobby representatives in DC. A regulation like this would go a long way, along with the President’s asserted efforts to shut down off-shore tax shelters toward reigning in this kind of shady and deeply risky investment trading and the stranglehold that they hold on our economy.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:44 amI understand the right-wing noise machine running this and making a big deal about it. That is expected.
What I find most disturbing is this pattern where ABC News’ jouvenile WH “reporter” Jake Tapper has been co-opted by the righties as a conduit for their message.
Tapper needs to be taken to task and admonished for running this story based on AM hate radio attacks and for not first getting responses or statements from the law firm AND the WH.
Tapper has become part of the right-wing noise machine, creating a larger continuing echo chamber and this needs to be stopped.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:46 amFOX news! And so far they cant back up their claim! Bwahaha
May 5th, 2009 at 11:46 amtombaker, do you see anything the zero does, or do you just watch charlie gibson slobber all over him?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:48 amOMG! A hedge fund taking a loss? What the Hell happened to our Democracy?
Let’s see now…your ‘plan’ was to wait until the Feds bailed out Chrysler so you could make a ton of money speculating on outcomes. Mmmmmkai.
Then that darn President Obama saw through your little scheme & left you out of the picture. Damn! That’s not fair at all.
What’s a good hedge fund manager to do? Why, just like Lauria…
LIE
May 5th, 2009 at 11:49 amWrite ABC News and complain about Trapper reporting on unsubstantiated claims. Then boycott them. They have proven over and over to be conservatively biased.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:49 amLiberTerryan Says:
… like you liberals like to do …
____________
Cool… the one-size-fits-all, stereotype pt down. Ever so meaningful!!!
Anybody here understand wha the H is this one is jabbering about?
So far Libby hasn’t made a meaningful point about ANYTHING.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:52 amToo late, YOU’RE here.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:53 amGee, what are you guys whining about? One guy at ABC bothers to ask any real questions and you boo hoo hoo all the way down the dial to CBS so you can watch little Katie Couric gush about what an awesome guy in the White House . . .
May 5th, 2009 at 11:54 amHey doodlebug, I’m here, but I wouldn’t do what the zero’s going to let the Islamofascists do . . . and then apologize!
May 5th, 2009 at 11:55 amNo, but he did say “unConstitutional”. In libertarian circles, the first one to say “unConstitutional” wins.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:55 amWhat reputation? They bought Chrysler’s debt. Their reputation is already shot.
Also, they’ve got a lawyer running around making allegations about an exchange he didn’t even see, as he admits.
Who’s going to hire that firm now?
May 5th, 2009 at 11:58 amThis is funny coming from a Fox News defender. If you watched anything besides Fox you’d know they’re not really “fair and balance”.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:59 amSo the only thing keeping us safe from terrorists is hedge funds?
May 5th, 2009 at 12:01 pmLiberTerryan Says:
Gee, what are you guys whining about?
____________
This is silly beyond words. Talk about inane.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:03 pmdoodlebug – - no, apologies! ha ha ha ha!
May 5th, 2009 at 12:03 pmHe’s not a libertarian. Nobody will admit to being a Republic anymore.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:03 pmSo LiberTerryan is brothabildo and Mr. P. Take your Ritalin kid.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:05 pmHas anyone ever explained Lauria’s original claim?
By that I mean two things: one, how does the Obama administration control the White House press corps to do its bidding, and two, how would the White House press corps be of any threat to anyone’s reputation?
May 5th, 2009 at 12:05 pmDoodlebug Shayne Says:
So the only thing keeping us safe from terrorists is hedge funds?
__________
And teh gays, Doodlebug… don’t forget teh gays.
Remember, Islamofascists are a bigger threat to America’s Freedoms™ than Hitler, but teh gays, and therefore butt sex, are the greatest threat of all to the country.
Hmmm… does this mean teh gays have a tactical nuke? Or just the GOOPers’ number? Their HOME number… apparently.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:07 pmDoodlebug Shayne Says:
Nobody will admit to being a Republic anymore.
____________
Huh??? Wha??? Admit… to… being… a Republic???
Excuse me… EXCUSE ME?!?
May 5th, 2009 at 12:09 pm(hmm. a Libertarian)
Hey Libertarian,
I’ve got airplanes and pharmaceuticals for sale,
made’em myself,
wanna buy some? – super-cheap!! – don’t let the government tell you which airplanes or medicines to buy!!!!
May 5th, 2009 at 12:12 pm…because the White House threatened “that the full force of the White House press corps would destroy its reputation if it continued to fight.”
__________________________________________________________
Waitaminnit — does this attorney know what the “White House press corps” is? Or does he just figures nobody else does?
The White House press corps is NOT the President’s own personal media army. It’s not the President’s personal public relations firm or spin machine. The press corp members are not beholden to the President in any way.
The White House press corps is a group of journalists from various media whose beat is the White House. And any one of them would take offense at the suggestion that they would follow any order from the White House to destroy anyone’s reputation just because the WH said so.
Lauria is lying through his teeth, and he got caught. I’m glad Cavuto tried to hold his feet to the fire on this, but I’m sure the rest of Fox News will repeat Lauria’s claims for as long as they can get mileage out of it. After all, their audience will just mindlessly lap it up — they won’t point out the lack of sense it makes.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:17 pmSorry TRoS, I refuse to use their correct name until they stop calling it the Democrat Party. I’ll use Repubes instead.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:19 pmThe Republic of Hymenoptera Stupidity Says
May 5th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Huh??? Wha??? Admit… to… being… a Republic???
Excuse me… EXCUSE ME?!?
_________________________________________________________
OK, OK — let’s see if we can find some other way to diss the name of the GOP (for those of you who want to play that childish game). If we can’t, you might have to change your handle.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:19 pmHe’s so sensitive misscoleopteramolly.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:21 pmI’m wondering why we care if the White House might have been playing hard ball with these hedgefund bastards?
May 5th, 2009 at 12:22 pmYeah, that’s the weirdest part of this whole story. Neil Cavuto actually had a jounalisitc moment!
May 5th, 2009 at 12:22 pmralph the wonder locust Says
May 5th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
By that I mean two things: one, how does the Obama administration control the White House press corps to do its bidding, and two, how would the White House press corps be of any threat to anyone’s reputation?
____________________________________________________________
The only way the White House can “control” the press corps is to give the reporters something so big and so juicy they just HAVE to report it.
And the only way they can do this in such a way as to destroy someone’s reputation is to:
1. Lie. Slander. Make up something reputation-destroying. This wouldn’t be a smart move, because once it’s debunked (as it surely would be), it would come back to bite the WH on its ass bigtime.
OR
2. Tell the truth about something genuinely harmful to someone’s reputation. Now, if this someone hasn’t done anything illegal or unethical, this would be impossible to do. And if this someone HAS done something illegal or unethical (especially if it’s being done with investors’ money), we deserve to know about it anyway. It shouldn’t be used as a political bargaining chip.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:27 pmAww Shiite!
May 5th, 2009 at 12:52 pmMost colleges are done for the year, or just about done.
Does that mean we’ll have an influx of troll droppings from Trajan and “friends”???
Lucky us.
:-/
Lieberterryan says:
Hey Archieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?
May 5th, 2009 at 12:55 pmYes, I always know when it’s Archie, because he avoids me like the plague.
May 5th, 2009 at 1:03 pmThats who I think it is Shoeless. The incoherence of his posts plus general insults gave him away.
May 5th, 2009 at 1:04 pmAnd he is an abject coward.
May 5th, 2009 at 1:07 pmWhere’s the Bar Association stand on this kind of behavior?
May 5th, 2009 at 1:17 pmWell of course the WH was playing hardball with the Hedge funds guys the advisers are FROM wall street!
BTW Liberterryan, whats wrong with holding a ‘liberal media’ journalists, and BOX News, feets to the flames?
May 5th, 2009 at 1:19 pm53.ralph the wonder locust Says:
——————————————————————————–
Has anyone ever explained Lauria’s original claim?
By that I mean two things: one, how does the Obama administration control the White House press corps to do its bidding, and two, how would the White House press corps be of any threat to anyone’s reputation?
May 5th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
——————————————————————————–
I argued this point on Tapper’s original lame story that ws on the ABC website. I mean, the allegation is childish and patently ridiculous on its face-something only a GOPER could believe. That story was like something written by a 10 year old. To call Tapper a journalist is laughable. He can’t even write. Can you imagine anyone connected with OBAMA threatening someone with having the Press corp do his bidding. Tapper is in the Press Corp. Does he take his instructions from the WH??? The story is just laughable and an
May 5th, 2009 at 3:10 pmexample of more shenanigans from the GOP EVIL DOERS.
At that point he should have just said that he’s been under a lot of pressure and drinking heavily.
May 5th, 2009 at 3:18 pmLauria claimed that one of his former clients — Perella Weinberg — withdrew its opposition to the government deal because the White House threatened “that the full force of the White House press corps would destroy its reputation if it continued to fight.”
————————————————————–
That is not even a plausible accusation. The White House press corps was compliant during the Bush years, but they go after Obama every day. Tapper is even _part_ of the White House press corps and he definitely has an axe to grind for the current president.
This alleged threat to sic the White House press corp on people who oppose Obama sounds like it’s just another embellishment on the myth of the “biased liberal media” that alleged journalists like Tapper are more than willing to spread.
May 5th, 2009 at 4:41 pmThe Obama administration probably threatened to use the press core to bust his knee caps if he didn’t comply.
May 5th, 2009 at 7:00 pmThe credibility of many people and organizations appears to be on the line with this story. Tom Lauria’s story line is falling apart. The “get Obama at any cost” crowd has just pushed the limits of their tactics. FOX News on two occasions pressed Lauria pretty hard. I think this damage control by FOX is noteworthy.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:44 pmThe internet is wreaking havoc with the established news organizations and with our politicians; they have to get use to the truth!!!!!
Listen up sheep – in a perfect la la land, it would be nice to be able to believe everything you hear from Obama’s administration. However, even without Lauria’s claims, the mere fact that Obama is in the middle of this and stating he won’t stand with those investors who actually have SECURE debt is nothing short of power abuse. Who are those mean old hedge funds representing? Probably some of you if you have 401 k, or possibly know someone who is a teacher or firefighter with a retirement account.
Wow, the audacity of those who don’t want to give away 2/3’s of their retirement to fund a corporation that makes bad cars.
Please- read a little about bankruptcy law, as well as how Obama’s grab here hurts all businesses in the long run. Companies are going to need investors, and it will be hard to get that if the rules are broken at the whim of government.
May 6th, 2009 at 3:02 amthanks…
May 6th, 2009 at 4:40 am