Chrysler: Investment Banker Threatened by Whitehouse Staffer

Lawyer For Chrysler Lenders "Whitehouse Directly Threatened My Client"-Audio

Chicago style politics, makes it to the Whitehouse... **UPDATE**WHITEHOUSE SAYS THE STORY IS FALSE, FULL STORY HERE: http://hotairpundit.blogspot.com/2009/05/abcnews-white-house-denies-charge-by.html Tom Lauria "One of my clients was directly threatened by the Whitehouse" "Full force of the Whitehouse Press Corp would destroy his reputation" From newsbusters If the Bush White House had engaged in anything similar to what's being described here, there would be calls for impeachment. Maybe there should be similar talk now. As it is, the establishment media will more than likely work very hard to ignore this. It should not be ignored. What attorney Tom Lauria describes is nothing short of chilling. Tom Lauria: "Let me tell you it's no fund standing on this side of the fence opposing the President of the United States. In fact, let me just say, people have asked me who I represent, and that's a moving target. I can tell you for sure that I represent one less investor today than I represented yesterday. One of my clients was directly threatened by the White House, and in essence compelled to withdraw its opposition to the deal under threat that the full force of the White House press corps would destroy its reputation if it continued to fight. That's how hard it is to stand on this side of the fence.

Abcnews: White House Denies Charge By Attorney that Administration Threatened to Destroy Investment Firm's Reputation

Whitehouse Says The Story Was False blogs.abcnews.com Jake Tapper:

A leading bankruptcy attorney representing hedge funds and money managers told ABC News Saturday that Steve Rattner, the leader of the Obama administration’s Auto Industry Task Force, threatened one of the firms, an investment bank, that if it continued to oppose the administration’s Chrysler bankruptcy plan, the White House would use the White House press corps to destroy its reputation. Thomas Lauria, Global Practice Head of the Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Group at White & Case, told ABC News that Rattner suggested to an official of the boutique investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners that officials of the Obama White House would embarrass the firm for opposing the Obama administration plan, which President Obama announced Thursday, and which requires creditors to accept roughly 29 cents on the dollar for an estimated $6.8 billion owed by Chrysler. Lauria first told the story, without naming Rattner, to Frank Beckmann on Detroit’s WJR-AM radio. The White House now denies the allegations, claiming that there’s no evidence of it, “The charge is completely untrue,” said White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton, “and there’s obviously no evidence to suggest that this happened in any way.”

How much does the President care about the auto industry? Here's Obama making a joke about putting money into the industry with 60 Minutes Steve Kroft, truly disgraceful...