Thursday, August 27, 2009

Find Some New Friends

I'd frankly rather he stop talking to these people altogether. But from a political standpoint it doesn't exactly make great PR for you to be golfing with "friends" who also happen to be world class tax cheats:

Robert Wolf, the president of UBS Americas, a Swiss-based bank, joined Obama at the elite, and difficult, Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs. Deputy press secretary Bill Burton described the two men as "friends."

According to news reports, Wolf and Obama met late in 2006 as the then-Illinois senator was about to launch his presidential bid. Wolf raised more than $250,000 for Obama's presidential bid, according to a Post report last year.

But Wolf's firm was caught up last year in a Senate probe of financial firms that attempted to shield millions of dollars in offshore accounts from U.S. taxes.

Last August, the Post reported, "The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations completed its report on UBS's role in helping wealthy investors shield money from federal taxes. Bank spokeswoman Rohini Pragasam said the donations were "categorically not connected" to the Senate inquiry. The bank also is under scrutiny by the IRS and the Justice Department."

1 comment:

  1. in before 'palling around with tax cheats' joke

    ReplyDelete