The Real Reason For McCain's Friday Night Phil Gramm Dump

Stephen D reports on a Phil Gramm Friday night dump attributing Gramm's resignation from the McSame campaign to the "Americans are whiners!" comment. I think that is just cover for the more likely real reason:

UBS, LGT Helped Hide Assets, Evade Taxes, Senate Says

By David Voreacos and Carlyn Kolker

July 17 (Bloomberg) -- UBS AG and Liechtenstein bank LGT Group aided rich U.S. clients who wanted to disguise ownership of accounts and evade taxes on hidden assets, a Senate subcommittee said.

UBS, the world's largest wealth manager, hid as much as $17.9 billion for 19,000 Americans who didn't declare assets to the Internal Revenue Service, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a report released in Washington late yesterday. LGT, owned by Liechtenstein's ruling family, fostered a ``culture of secrecy and deception'' while assigning code names to U.S. clients, the panel said.

Remember that Phil Gram works for and lobbies for one arm of UBS in the USA. More below... And an interesting side note from similar article ABC story posted earlier before you get there:

A former UBS private banker, Bradley Birkenfeld, has agreed to a plea deal and is reported to be cooperating with US authorities in bring charges against American citizens on tax evasion charges.

As soon as I read that article linked out by jimstaro at ePM I figured there might be a link.
UBS is still Phil Gramm's gig, isn't it? So sayeth his Wiki:

"Gramm is a vice-chairman of UBS Investment Bank."

And we all know about McCain's lobbying troubles because of Gramm:

U.S. Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign faces questions regarding a top economic adviser's work for Swiss banking giant UBS Warburg.
Economist and former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm is vice chairman of UBS Investment Bank and has lobbied Congress on the company's behalf.
UBS has been hit hard by the U.S. housing and mortgage meltdowns.

Smoke >>> Fire? Might be worth fanning the flames a little? Face it... Calling Americans whiners is nothing compared to things that republican criminals typically do.

It would be interesting if Cindy McCain's (or one of her trusts') name was on that list of IRS tax dodgers, eh? That would clearly typify a republican circle jerk we have come to expect from the GOP these days. Nevermind the fact that Cindy McCain has a proven track record of not paying her taxes. And when there is a Friday Night Dump involving corrupt republicans and meant to distract the candy coated media from the real story, timing is everything.
idredit, over at Booman Tribune where this is x-posted, as well, chunked in the last piece I was about to go looking for.

you may be on to something here...

but it depends on the meaning of resign Gramm remains in the background as an advisor. But coupled with the UBS naughty naughty, there's the deep in the poop sub-prime debacle.

The Carpetbagger Report

Is Gramm gone, or is he only kinda sorta gone?
Yesterday, the McCain campaign disputed part of Novak’s report, saying that Gramm would no longer be a surrogate. But the report also said Gramm would advice McCain on economic matters, and on this, the campaign said nothing.

Gramm’s decision comes after word that, in his weekend column, Robert Novak was to report that the Gramm and McCain had talked subsequent to the ill-time remarks and that he’d stay on as a surrogate and adviser.
But McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said earlier today that Gramm would no longer represent the campaign.
Gramm’s move tonight appears to be a move to clarify his status. But when asked whether this meant he’d no longer advise or represent McCain, Bounds only said that it was Gramm’s decision to step down from his co-chair post.

So, it’s just another round of double-talk from McCain. First the campaign agrees with Gramm, then it doesn’t. Gramm is a surrogate, then he isn’t, then he is, then he isn’t. Gramm is an advisor, then he isn’t, then he might be.

I can understand the campaign’s embarrassment, but this is ridiculous. Gramm not only thinks we’re a “nation of whiners,” he’s also, more importantly, the man whose financial deregulation efforts made the market meltdown possible.

While Gramm's help in advancing banking deregulation is widely considered partially responsible for the Mortgage Crisis, you have to remember that his deregulation also made it easier for UBS to enter into all kinds of schemes that helped along their offering these illegal tax havens.

The deregulation is much bigger than just mortgages when you look at Gramm.

[update] Welcome to Crooks and Liars readers who may have made their way over here from Mike's Blog Roundup. And also thanks to idredit for saving me a lot of time in finding the last piece of a story that I was editing and building on the run.

Bush Impeachment Will Go To Committee

And this time it doesn't look like they are sending it there to bury it:

Kucinich Says Unidentified Foreign Official
Wants to Speak at Impeachment Talks

An unidentified government official of a U.S. ally wants to participate if and when Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich makes his case to impeach President Bush before the House Judiciary Committee, according to the Ohio Democrat.

The House voted, 238-180, on Tuesday to send Kucinich’s latest impeachment effort (H Res 1345) to the Judiciary Committee.

Chairman John Conyers Jr. said he will hold a broad hearing on the general topic of abuses of power by the Bush administration.

“There’s never been one [hearing] that accumulated all the things that constitute an imperial presidency,” Conyers said, explaining that the anticipated hearing would review more than a year of committee inquiry into such matters as the firing of U.S. attorneys, the leak of the identity of former CIA operative Valerie Plame and the information provided to Congress in the run-up to the Iraq War.

Read on... But before you go to read that, why is torture not on that list? It should be.

West of the Border Bigot

A storyline that has come to typify republican hate is going on just west of the border from North-Western Connecticut:

During a July 2nd meeting of the Pawling, NY town board. Republican town supervisor Beth Coursen called town republican chairman Glenn Carey a "faggot" and said "everybody knows it". The town of Pawling sits about 70 miles North of New York City. This wouldn't be the first time Ms. Coursen has used such language against Mr. Carey.

Lucy Watson, wife of Democratic Councilman David Watson, said, while she did not hear the July 2 exchange, it was familiar to her.

Watson said she was present in late 2007 at a restaurant and in May 2008 in town hall after a board meeting when Coursen referred to Carey in the same manner.

Cross Posted at Political Newsline

Of course, ctblogger is still being kept busy documenting the worst that Connecticut has to offer:

Would you like some death threats with that racism?

Danbury News-Times=all the comments that's fit to print.

And ctblogger is right... It does sound familiar.