Accuracy in Media
Obama Army Pick Withdraws
By Don | June 14, 2009
President Obama's nominee to become the General Counsel of the Army
withdrew after being criticized for omitting his Fannie Mae
connecetion to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
From ABC News' Jake Tapper
Late on Friday, Donald Remy withdrew his name as President Obama's
nominee to be General Counsel of the Army after coming under fire for
not disclosing in a work history for the Senate Armed Services
Committee that he worked for embattled mortgage giant Fannie Mae.
"Regretfully, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for
this position," Remy wrote to President Obama. "It was an honor to be
nominated by you and I extend my good wishes to you, your
administration and all of the exceptional men and women of the United
States Armed Forces and their families."
Earlier this week Remy met privately with some members of the Senate
Armed Services Committee about their concerns that he had not been
fully forthcoming in revealing that he had been a senior official at
Fannie Mae. Remy, who worked for Fannie Mae from 2000 through 2006,
instead characterized his former employer in a document given to the
committee as a "'major U.S. company," though he listed the names of
other employers.
Two Republicans on the committee, Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Mel
Martinez of Florida, expressed concerns about what Martinez described
as Remy's "lack of candor," and said they wanted to know more about
Remy's responsibilities at Fannie Mae, which in 2006 disclosed
billions of dollars in accounting errors.
"The President believes that Donald Remy would have been an excellent
General Counsel of the Army," said White House spokesman Tommy Vietor,
"but understands his personal decision and the choice he has made.
Donald has given to the nation many times and continues to demonstrate
his duty to country above all things."
An administration source pointed out that Remy fully disclosed his
tenure at Fannie Mae in other documents provided to the committee,
including his Senate Armed Services Committee Questionnaire, his
National Security Questionnaire and his Public Financial Disclosure
Report.
Prior to his time at Fannie Mae, Remy served as Deputy Assistant
Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Justice Department. He
is currently a partner at the law firm Latham & Watkins LLP.
It's odd that Remy chose to not disclose the Fannie Mae link in this
one document after having listed it on others. By not doing so he did
more damage had he just remained honest and consistent.
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