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Bush's Longtime Friend Under Investigation! Email Print

By Bob Kendall
02/11/2008 08:17:40 PM EST

In the Seattle Times February 4, 2008 edition Carol D. Leonnig had a headlined story from the Washington Post:

"Alphonso Jackson, a longtime friend of President Bush, is under investigation by HUD's Inspector General and the Justice Department for ... alleged acts of favoritism and interference.  Jackson's office last week said he could not comment."

The article dealt with Bush's Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson demanding that the Philadelphia Housing Authority transfer a $2 million public property to a developer at a big discount.

In a lawsuit by Carl Greene, a court affidavit given by Greene revealed that Alphonso Jackson phoned the Mayor of Philadelphia in 2006, demanding the transfer of this property to a former soul music songwriter and personal friend, Kenny Gamble.  

This telephone conversation was followed by a series of "menacing" phone calls concerning other housing programs and quite a few letters and phone calls over Carl Greene claims during an 11-month period.

Leonnig continued to explain in detail:

"Greene and his colleagues have alleged ... that Philadelphia is now paying a severe price for disobeying a Bush cabinet official.  The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently vowed to strip the city's housing authority of its ability to spend some federal money, a move that authority said could raise rents for most of its 84,000 low-income tenants and force layoffs of 250 people."

Bob Greene and Jackson are African Americans, so this is not any kind of racial conflict.  

Carol D. Leonning concludes her article explaining clearly the issue:

"Jackson is seeking to help specific black owned businesses and is sending a message to other housing authorities that they had better not defy him on that agenda."

Is being politically connected part of the American dream?

Apparently that is how it worked with Halliburton getting no bid contracts!

Is it any wonder that Congress is holding up action on over 200 nominations that Bush is anxious to make?    


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