PrintMarch 5, 2009
Independent AG will look into Freeman's finances
Herb Meyer, former Vice Chairman of the NIC, writes occasionally for American Thinker. He indicated to me in an email 10 days ago or so that he would probably add his voice to the chorus of criticism if he felt the threat of Freeman was serious.
He clearly does.
I reiterate the prediction that Freeman will be “withdrawn." It is telling that Blair picked him and that the White House continues to keep him in “the running” despite numerous reasons to pull the appointment (the WH pleads ignorance of Freeman’s ties and history-surely the WH team is fully informed by now).
During the campaign, Barack Obama said he supported sanctions against Iran. Freeman works for and is highly compensated by a Chinese oil company that is gearing up to bust those sanctions.
Why should it take bipartisan efforts in Congress to knock this nominee out of consideration?
Still no report on this controversy from the New York Times. But the Washington Times reveals more new news on Freeman:
An independent inspector general will look into the foreign financial ties of Chas W. Freeman Jr., the Obama administration's pick to serve as chairman of the group that prepares the U.S. intelligence community's most sensitive assessments, according to three congressional aides.Mr. Freeman should save himself the embarrassment and withdraw from consideration for this important post.
The director of national intelligence, Dennis C. Blair, last Thursday named Mr. Freeman, a veteran former diplomat, to the chairmanship of the National Intelligence Council, known inside the government as the NIC. In that job, Mr. Freeman will have access to some of America's most closely guarded secrets and be charged with overseeing the drafting of the consensus view of all 16 intelligence agencies.
His selection was praised by some who noted his articulateness and experience as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia and a senior envoy to China and other nations. But it sparked concerns among some members of Congress from both parties, who asked the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's inspector general, Edward McGuire, to investigate Mr. Freeman's potential conflicts of interest.
Mr.. Freeman has not submitted the financial disclosure forms required of all candidates for senior public positions, according to the general counsel's office of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Maybe we should ask why would Dennis Blair, the US Director of National Intelligence, not know that Freeman has this history and these ties, especially considering the fact that this was not just commonly known in Washington? Blair and Freeman go back years. What does this pick by Blair say about Blair? That he was aware of Freeman’s past and still chose him (that is cause for concern) or he did not know of Freeman’s history (that is also cause for concern).
