By The Prowler on 2.23.09 @ 6:08AM
Tax dodging and the President Obama's economic advisory
commission.
The White House is attempting to jettison Robert
Wolf, chief executive of UBS America, from its announced
economic advisory board, after Wolf's bank agreed to pay $780
million in fines and to disclose hundreds of U.S. clients who
attempted to dodge U.S. taxes. The case does not close out a
civil suit against the bank that seeks the names of thousands of
other U.S. citizens who may be hiding as much as $15 billion in
secret Swiss bank accounts.
Wolf's employees were part of the criminal case, and senior staff
in the Obama White House have been looking to dump Wolf since
Obama personally included him on the board.
"He was one of the President's top fundraisers on Wall Street,
which means a lot given that Hillary had a lot more money lined
up there," says one former Obama fundraiser. "Wolf was there from
the beginning, when others were not. It's going to be tough to
push him out the door."
But White House aides have been pushing nonetheless, arguing that
at a time when Obama is asking most Americans to sacrifice, it
looks bad to have a guy whose firm facilitated tax dodging
advising him on economic policy.
But Obama has refused to remove Wolf or even ask for his
resignation.
