Democratic and Republican senators say a full-court press by Barack Obama's transition team is likely to keep ethical questions from sinking the nomination of Treasury Secretary-designee Timothy Geithner.
As Obama pressed senators on his economic recovery plan Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Geithner had failed to pay $42,000 in taxes and had employed a housekeeper whose work permit had expired.
But minutes after the news broke, the Obama transition team pushed back with talking points -- distributed to Capitol Hill, K Street and congressional reporters -- in which it portrayed the problems as simple mistakes or oversights.
| It's a simple mistake if I'm allowed to get away with it ... |
The talking points noted that Geithner had paid off all of his back taxes -- although nearly $26,000 of them weren't paid until November, just before his nomination went to the Senate Finance Committee for official review. The talking points also said that the legal status of Geithner's former housekeeper didn't lapse until the last three months of her employment. |