The American Spectator

home
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The Largest Selection of Liberal-baiting Merchandise on the Net!
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Print Email

On the Prowl

On the Prowl

(Page 2 of 2)

Americans for Limited Government filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all documents, including the flight manifest, related to the Air Force One New York flyover in late April.

At least one other entity, believed to be a news outlet, filed a FOIA request for information related to the incident. The requests were made to determine if any Obama donors or other interested parties were on board the flight, which caused a panic in the area around Ground Zero and Wall Street. The suspicion that civilians— or high-ranking White House officials— may have been on the flight is the result, in part, of the involvement of Louis Caldera, the Obama administration’s director of the White House Military Office.

Caldera authorized the New York City flyover, and was brought into the administration, say Obama donors and transition team members, for his understanding of the Pentagon’s inner workings, his relationship with high-powered donors with backgrounds in the defense industry, and his ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Caldera served two years as Bill Clinton’s secretary of the Army. During Caldera’s tenure at the Pentagon, his choice for deputy inspector general, Maj. Gen. Larry G. Smith, was scuttled after it was revealed that an alleged sexual harassment complaint against him had been removed from his personnel record.

Caldera, who served in the California state assembly, also served as a vice chancellor of the California state university system. It was this background that allowed Gov. Richardson to press for Caldera to be brought on as president of the University of New Mexico. Caldera was not considered a top-tier candidate for that post until Richardson’s staff inserted a requirement that the president must have a top security clearance. According to former Clinton administration sources, that requirement almost ensured the only qualified candidate would be Richardson’s friend Caldera. In the end, he stayed in the post for only about two years.

Caldera’s controversial background doesn’t end there. In 2002, Caldera was placed on the board of IndyMac, before its failure and placement in receivership due to its poor capitalization as a result of poor mortgage investments. IndyMac Bank was the largest savings and loan in Southern California and the seventh- largest mortgage originator in the United States.

“This was a Rahm Emanuel hire,” says a former Obama transition team member. “And the thing about Rahm is that he’s not afraid to push a guy like this out the door. I’d be surprised if Caldera is there to remind anyone of this boneheaded decision six months from now.”  

Page:   12

Letter to the Editor

Comments

Alan Brooks| 6.21.09 @ 7:42PM

Jindal is an oriental despot.

Leave a Comment

ADVERTISEMENT

Why Does Alyssa Milano Hate Me?

Robert Stacy McCain

* * * *

In Sum, IPCC Discredited

Paul Chesser

* * * *

That Dangerous Radical . . . Marvin Olasky?

Robert Stacy McCain

* * * *

Forget the Committees

Greg Scandlen

* * * *

Moment of Truth

W. James Antle, III

* * * *

No Sales Days in the Afghan War

George H. Wittman

* * * *

Bureaucrats With Badges

Mark Hyman

* * * *

Obama in Wonderland

Ken Blackwell

* * * *

A Writer Speaks

William Tucker

* * * *

What Has Changed?

Robert P. Kirchhoefer

* * * *

High Stakes

Manon McKinnon

* * * *
ADVERTISEMENT