Saturday, April 21, 2012

Barack Obama And Jon Corzine: Bumbler And Bundler

By Susan Duclos

If you are Barack Obama and media outlets like the New York Times sees fit to report  a "Steep Dropoff Of Cash From Major Donors" for your reelection campaign, it is easy to justify distancing yourself from a man but not the money he collects for you.

The Weekly Standard looked for what no one else would have even thought to look for:



Second from the top: Jon Corzine, bundler for Barack Obama.

On that list is Jon Corzine, the former governor of New Jersey and embattled money man, the former head of MF Global:

Corzine, according to the Obama campaign, has once again helped raise more than $500,000.
(He was likewise named a bundler in January, when the Obama campaign last released the names of their money men.)

"MF Global and its brokerage sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a $6.3 billion bet on the bonds of some of Europe’s most indebted nations prompted regulator concerns and a credit rating downgrade. Corzine quit MF Global Nov. 4," Bloomberg reported.

As ABC reported, "President Obama once hailed [Corzine] as an 'honorable man' and one of his 'best partners' in the White House." Since that time, Obama has tried to distance himself from Corzine, who at one point was considered for the treasury secretary slot.

Hot Air's AllahPundit explains what else happened during that quarter:

He’s in the $500,000+ club for the first quarter of this year, the most elite group there is among O’s cash cows. You know what else happened during that quarter? News broke that more than a billion dollars in MF Global client funds had apparently been “vaporized” in the firm’s collapse, with investigators clueless as to where the money might have gone. As recently as last month, new evidence emerged pointing to Corzine’s direct involvement in using clients’ cash to cover the firm’s debts. And yet, presumably, he was squeezing his rich friends for dough for Obama the whole time. Ace asks a good question: “Why is a man under investigation by a government agency permitted to raise money for the man who controls that agency?” Wouldn’t be the first time Corzine’s used his political leverage to personal advantage.

More Jon Corzine news can be found over at Bloomberg News.