According to Politico.com, a number of people currently working at the White House have made a great deal of money from firms involved in the TARP bailout. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America Corp. and the now-defunct Lehman Brothers and others paid Lawrence Summers, one of President Obama's top financial advisors, more than $2.7 million in speaking fees. According to the article:
"He pulled in another $5.2 million from D.E. Shaw, a hedge fund for which he served as managing director from October 2006 until joining the administration."
"Thomas E. Donilon, Obama's deputy national security adviser, was paid $3.9 million by the power law firm O'Melveny & Myers to represent clients including two firms that receieved federal bailout funds: Citigroup and Goldman Sachs."
One of the questions about the TARP has been the seemingly lack of intervention from the government in the banking industry and its related industries (other than the AIG bonus flap). There really hasn't been a lot of flak about the large bonuses paid by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It seems as if the people controlling the TARP money and making the rules are a little too involved with the banks they are dealing with!
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