RNC Research

SHOT: “After Citigroup Received Its $45 Billion Taxpayer Bailout, Lew — Two Weeks Before Joining The Obama Administration — Received Another $900,000 From Citigroup As A Bonus.” “For his work at Citigroup, work that included betting on the housing collapse, Lew received a salary of $1.1 million. After Citigroup received its $45 billion taxpayer bailout, Lew — two weeks before joining the Obama administration — received another $900,000 from Citigroup as a bonus. This was revealed only in 2010; in 2009, when Lew first joined the administration as a State Department official, both he and the administration refused to say if he had received a post-bailout bonus from Citigroup (at the time, there was a huge political scandal over Wall Street executives receiving large bonuses despite needing taxpayer bailouts).” (Glenn Greenwald, “The New WH Chief Of Staff And Citigroup,” Salon, 1/10/12)

CHASER: In 2009, Obama Said It Was The “Height Of Irresponsibility” And “Shameful” For “Executives At Major Financial Firms Who Turned To The American People, Hat In Hand, When They Were In Trouble, Even As They Paid Themselves Their Customary Lavish Bonuses.” OBAMA: “But in order to restore trust in our financial system, we are going to have to do more than just put forward our plans. In order to restore trust, we’ve got to make certain that taxpayer funds are not subsidizing excessive compensation packages on Wall Street. We all need to take responsibility. And this includes executives at major financial firms who turned to the American people, hat in hand, when they were in trouble, even as they paid themselves customary lavish bonuses. As I said last week, this is the height of irresponsibility. It’s shameful. And that’s exactly the kind of disregard of the costs and consequences of their actions that brought about this crisis: a culture of narrow self-interest and short-term gain at the expense of everything else.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks By President Barack Obama On Executive Compensation With Secretary Geithner, Washington, D.C., 2/4/09)

• Obama Said That “What Gets People Upset – And Rightfully So – Are Executives Being Rewarded For Failure. Especially When Those Rewards Are Subsidized By U.S. Taxpayers….” OBAMA: “This is America. We don’t disparage wealth. We don’t begrudge anybody for achieving success. And we certainly believe that success should be rewarded. But what gets people upset – and rightfully so – are executives being rewarded for failure. Especially when those rewards are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers, many of whom are having a tough time themselves.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks By President Barack Obama On Executive Compensation With Secretary Geithner, Washington, D.C., 2/4/09)

• Obama Said “For Top Executives To Award Themselves These Kinds Of Compensation Packages In The Midst Of This Economic Crisis Isn’t Just Bad Taste – It’s Bad Strategy – And I Will Not Tolerate It As President.” OBAMA: “For top executives to award themselves these kinds of compensation packages in the midst of this economic crisis isn’t just bad taste – it’s bad strategy – and I will not tolerate it as President. We’re going to be demanding some restraint in exchange for federal aid – so that when firms seek new federal dollars, we won’t find them up to the same old tricks.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks By President Barack Obama On Executive Compensation With Secretary Geithner, Washington, D.C., 2/4/09)