Kenneth Feinberg, who seems to always have his hands on someone else's money, was the administration's "special master for compensation," meaning that he determined pay for the executives who ran companies that took taxpayers' bailout dollars.
When Feinberg took the job, the public understood that it was a pro bono position. The media repeatedly said that Feinberg would not be paid and the administration never disputed the reports.
The New York Times, for instance, said in June 2009 that the man who would "have an almost unprecedented discretion to set pay for some of the nation's top bankers and chief executives" was going to receive "no compensation for his work."
As it turns out, however, Feinberg, who demanded that Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis work without pay, made $120,830 a year on a job he left only just Friday. Documents confirming his salary were obtained by Judicial Watch, which had asked for them through the Freedom of Information Act.
Where is the transparency, Mr. President? As early as December of last year, even the media were catching on, the AP noting that "the government's actions when the public and press seek information are not yet matching up with the president's words."
The Feinberg affair is merely a patch of fog in a thick cloud bank that this White House has willingly seeded.
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