Thursday, February 12, 2009

Bush gave dozens of donors jobs in final days of administration

by John Byrne

Fred Fielding, Emmet Flood and William Burck have something in common.

They all work with President George W. Bush and were appointed to lucrative, obscure jobs by him in the closing days of his administration -- jobs that can pay as much as $3,000 an hour.

Less that two weeks before leaving office, Bush named the three to an obscure World Bank agency called the International Center for Settlement of Investment disputes, where, if called to hear a case, they can earn as much as $3,000 an hour -- plus expenses. Bush also named two other prominent Republicans to the agency.

The appointments last for six years.

According to the Washington Post's Dan Eggen, Bush made more than 100 such appointments, tapping associates to non-confirmable, obscure posts such as the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commissions.

Roughly half of the jobs that Bush filled after Obama's election were given to donors who gave $1.9 million to Republicans since 2003. Twenty were filled by former Bush aides (Fielding was the White House Counsel, who sent the note to Rove about executive immunity in the fired US Attorneys case). Additional seats went to "old hands" at previous Republican presidencies, such as that of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

Working for Nixon, it appears, has now become a tangible asset.
 
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