Sen. Charles E. Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance
Committee, has raised questions about both issues, forcing Senate
Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. to summon committee
members to his office Tuesday afternoon to discuss the matter.
According to NBC News, sources close to the transition say Geithner did
not pay some taxes when he worked for the International Monetary Fund,
but when the error was discovered in November 2008, the taxes were paid.
With regard to the housekeeper, transition officials say Geithner
verified legal status when she was hired, but that her papers expired
while still employed.
Transition officials also told
NBC that Geithner initiated the meeting with the committee in an effort to be forthright.
"The President-elect chose Tim Geithner to be his Treasury Secretary
because he's the right person to help lead our economic recovery during
these challenging times," Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a
statement. "He's dedicated his career to our country and served with
honor, intelligence and distinction. That service should not be
tarnished by honest mistakes, which, upon learning of them, he quickly
addressed. He made a common mistake on his taxes, and was unaware that
his part-time housekeeper's work authorization expired for the last
three months of her employment. We hope that the Senate will confirm
him with strong bipartisan support so that he can begin the important
work of the country."
Immigration issues are far from new in the confirmation process. In
2004, Bernie Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner,
withdrew as George W. Bush's Homeland Security secretary, after it was
revealed that he failed to pay taxes on an illegal immigrant who worked
in his house.
Linda Chavez, Bush's first Labor secretary nominee, withdrew in 2001
when it was discovered she had paid an illegal immigrant who helped in
here home, and Zoe Baird, picked by Bill Clinton to be his attorney
general, withdrew her nomination in 1993 after she admitted to employing
two illegal immigrants and didn't pay the required taxes. -
Donna Block
The confirmation of Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner hit a
familiar hurdle as questions arose over the immigration status of a
former housekeeper and whether he paid Social Security and Medicare
taxes.
