For the Record

[Chicopee John]

After seeing this, I went to CNN to post their take on this unprecedented cabinet and, to my surprise, they didn't have ANYTHING about this.

Their lead story was about the 'first openly gay becoming PM (?) of Iceland'. Granted, this is a compelling story.....LOL

Report: Daschle Delayed Tax Revelation

Health and Human Services secretary nominee reportedly waited nearly a month after being nominated before informing President Obama that he had not paid years of back taxes.

FOXNews.com Sunday, February 01, 2009

Former South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle waited nearly a month after being nominated to be secretary of health and human services before informing President Obama that he had not paid years of back taxes, the Washington Post reports.

On Jan. 2, Daschle paid $140,000 in back taxes and interest to the U.S. Treasury and about two days later informed the White House and the Senate Finance Committee, the White House confirmed to the Post.

Obama's transition team discovered in December that $15,000 of the $276,000 in charitable contributions claimed by Daschle lacked proper documentation. But Daschle waited until after amended returns were filed before he mentioned the larger tax liability.

The second-ranking GOP senator said Sunday he is troubled by Daschle's admission that he failed to pay taxes, but added that it is too early to know if the blunder will affect his chances of becoming the next health chief.

Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona -- who serves on the Senate Finance Committee that is set to meet Monday to discuss Daschle's nomination -- suggested that the speed at which Obama selected his cabinet members might have prevented candidates from being properly vetted.

"You wonder if this would have happened with Bush," Kyl said on FOX News Sunday.

Daschle spokeswoman Jenny Backus said he had known since June 208 that his luxury car and driver provided by wealthy Democratic donor, longtime friend and business associate Leo Hindery might be taxable, but never expected the amount to be such a "jaw-dropping" sum and "thought it was being taken care of" by his accountant.

Hindery founded InterMedia Partners, a private equity firm, in 1988. Daschle was paid $1 million annually for his consulting services, the Senate Finance Committee said.

Daschle had an unreported consulting income of $88,333, in 2007.

Bloomberg reported that Backus said Daschle was "embarrassed and disappointed" by what had occurred.

"Senator Daschle is embarrassed and disappointed by these errors," Backus said. "He apologized for his part in these errors and expressed his deep regret that the committee had to devote time to them."

The White House acknowledged Friday that Daschle had "some tax issues," which, the administration said, have been resolved and should not bar his confirmation as secretary.

A statement issued by the White House affirmed that Daschle "is the right person to lead the fight for health care reform."

"Senator Daschle brought these issues to the Finance Committee's attention when he submitted his nomination forms and we are confident the committee is going to schedule a hearing for him very soon, and he will be confirmed," it said.

Click here to read the full story from the Washington Post.

[Aloysius]

I saw a long report on Daschle's tax issues on Anderson Cooper's show Friday night. They're definitely covering this.

[Chicopee John]

Aloysius said:

I saw a long report on Daschle's tax issues on Anderson Cooper's show Friday night. They're definitely covering this.

OK. I only looked on CNN.com to get an article on this subject. I couldn't find it. Their feature story was about a Dyke becoming the PM of ICELAND. Truly a reason for celebration. LOL.

Glad to hear that this story is getting air play on CNN other than by Lou Dobbs.