Obama Army Pick Withdraws

    Accuracy in Media


Obama Army Pick Withdraws

By Don  |  June 14, 2009

    President Obama's nominee to become the General Counsel of the Army
    withdrew after being criticized for omitting his Fannie Mae
    connecetion to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

    From ABC News' Jake Tapper

    Late on Friday, Donald Remy withdrew his name as President Obama's
    nominee to be General Counsel of the Army after coming under fire for
    not disclosing in a work history for the Senate Armed Services
    Committee that he worked for embattled mortgage giant Fannie Mae.

    "Regretfully, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for
    this position," Remy wrote to President Obama. "It was an honor to be
    nominated by you and I extend my good wishes to you, your
    administration and all of the exceptional men and women of the United
    States Armed Forces and their families."

    Earlier this week Remy met privately with some members of the Senate
    Armed Services Committee about their concerns that he had not been
    fully forthcoming in revealing that he had been a senior official at
    Fannie Mae. Remy, who worked for Fannie Mae from 2000 through 2006,
    instead characterized his former employer in a document given to the
    committee as a "'major U.S. company," though he listed the names of
    other employers.

    Two Republicans on the committee, Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Mel
    Martinez of Florida, expressed concerns about what Martinez described
    as Remy's "lack of candor," and said they wanted to know more about
    Remy's responsibilities at Fannie Mae, which in 2006 disclosed
    billions of dollars in accounting errors.

    "The President believes that Donald Remy would have been an excellent
    General Counsel of the Army," said White House spokesman Tommy Vietor,
    "but understands his personal decision and the choice he has made.
    Donald has given to the nation many times and continues to demonstrate
    his duty to country above all things."

    An administration source pointed out that Remy fully disclosed his
    tenure at Fannie Mae in other documents provided to the committee,
    including his Senate Armed Services Committee Questionnaire, his
    National Security Questionnaire and his Public Financial Disclosure
    Report.

    Prior to his time at Fannie Mae, Remy served as Deputy Assistant
    Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Justice Department. He
    is currently a partner at the law firm Latham & Watkins LLP.

    It's odd that Remy chose to not disclose the Fannie Mae link in this
    one document after having listed it on others.  By not doing so he did
    more damage had he just remained honest and consistent.

    Post #2114


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