Barack Obama

Solyndra: a $535 million loan guarantee, and a loss of more than $500 million

$535M loan guarantee; $500M+ lost

The Energy Department's inspector general found that the solar company Solyndra gave the department statements that were “inaccurate and misleading” to win a $535 million federal loan guarantee, and that the department's own checks “were less than fully effective.” The company filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2011, a loss to taxpayers “in excess of $500 million.” Employees told investigators they “felt tremendous pressure” to process applications, citing interest from department leaders, the administration, Congress, and applicants. The inspector general put the main blame on Solyndra's officials, whose actions were “at best, reckless and irresponsible or, at worst, an orchestrated effort to knowingly and intentionally deceive and mislead the Department,” and said possible political pressure was not the focus of its investigation. The report says the Justice Department told the inspector general in early 2015 that it “will not pursue criminal prosecution of Solyndra officials.”

Sources: Energy Department inspector general report (Aug. 24, 2015)

His attorney general was held in contempt of Congress

255 to 67

On June 28, 2012 the House voted 255 to 67 to find Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress “for refusal to comply with a subpoena” from its oversight committee. Seventeen Democrats voted yes; more than 100 Democrats did not vote. The court fight over the withheld records ran until a settlement in 2019, with the Justice Department still disputing parts of the court’s rulings.

Sources: House Clerk, roll call 441 (June 28, 2012) · CNN (May 8, 2019)

Fast and Furious: watchdog found no evidence Holder knew; a judge later rejected Obama’s privilege claim

The Justice Department inspector general’s September 2012 report on the ATF operation, in which agents failed to stop a trafficking ring that bought more than 2,000 firearms for about $1.5 million, faulted people “ranging from line agents and prosecutors in Phoenix and Tucson to senior ATF officials in Washington” and found “no evidence that Attorney General Holder was informed about Operation Fast and Furious, or learned about the tactics employed by ATF in the investigation, prior to January 31, 2011.” Obama asserted executive privilege over related records subpoenaed by the House; on Jan. 19, 2016 U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, rejected the claim and ordered records produced because the department had already disclosed their substance, adding that her ruling was “not predicated on a finding that the withholding was intended to cloak wrongdoing.” The House and the Justice Department settled the suit in 2019, each still disputing the court’s privilege rulings.

Their response: Attorney General Eric Holder, on the inspector general’s report: “It is unfortunate that some were so quick to make baseless accusations before they possessed the facts about these operations”. He announced that the former acting ATF director had retired and that a deputy assistant attorney general had resigned. On the 2016 ruling a Justice Department spokeswoman said only that the agency was “reviewing the decision.”

Sources: Justice Department Office of the Inspector General, report page (posted Sept. 19, 2012) · Justice Department Office of the Inspector General, full report, archived copy · Justice Department, statement by Attorney General Holder (September 2012), archived copy · Politico (Jan. 19, 2016) · CNN (May 8, 2019)

IRS gave Tea Party groups extra scrutiny; the Justice Department closed its inquiry with no charges

The Treasury inspector general for tax administration reported on May 14, 2013 that the IRS “used inappropriate criteria that identified for review Tea Party and other organizations applying for tax-exempt status based upon their names or policy positions”; of 296 applications reviewed, 160 had been open for 206 to 1,138 days. The Justice Department closed its criminal inquiry in October 2015 with no charges against official Lois Lerner or anyone else, saying it found mismanagement but “no evidence that any IRS official acted based on political, discriminatory, corrupt, or other inappropriate motives that would support a criminal prosecution.” A Senate Finance Committee report of Aug. 5, 2015 made joint findings but split by party on bias and on any White House role: the Democratic staff wrote there was “no evidence” Treasury or White House officials influenced the cases, while the Republican staff argued Lerner was politically biased and that “Political pressure from the White House” after the Citizens United ruling “unduly influenced the IRS”. The committee’s report also records that in March 2014, after congressional subpoenas, IRS employees erased 422 backup tapes believed to hold Lerner’s emails, and that the agency waited more than four months to tell Congress the emails were missing; the tax inspector general “did not uncover evidence that the IRS and its employees purposely erased the tapes in order to conceal” them. It later emerged that liberal groups had been singled out too, in smaller numbers, and in October 2017 the IRS apologized in a court settlement with conservative groups.

Their response: Obama, May 14, 2013: “the report’s findings are intolerable and inexcusable.” The acting IRS commissioner’s resignation was requested the next day. Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik, closing the inquiry in 2015: “poor management is not a crime.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions, announcing the 2017 settlements: “There is no excuse for this conduct.”

Sources: Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, report 2013-10-053 (May 14, 2013), archived copy · Senate Finance Committee, S. Rept. 114-119, part 1 (Aug. 5, 2015) · CNN (Oct. 23, 2015) · NPR (Oct. 27, 2017) · White House, Statement by the President (May 14, 2013)

Bulk collection of Americans’ phone records was ruled unlawful; spy chief apologized for his testimony

In June 2013 the Guardian published a secret court order requiring Verizon to give the National Security Agency the call records of millions of customers daily; the program dated to at least May 2006, under George W. Bush, and continued under Obama. In March 2013 Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, asked by Sen. Ron Wyden whether the NSA collected data on millions of Americans, had answered “No, sir, not wittingly”; on June 21 he wrote to the Senate that the answer was “clearly erroneous” and apologized. The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board concluded on Jan. 23, 2014 that the statute “does not provide an adequate legal basis to support the program”, and on May 7, 2015 a federal appeals court held in ACLU v. Clapper that the program “exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized”, without deciding the constitutional claims.

Their response: Obama, June 7, 2013: “When it comes to telephone calls, nobody is listening to your telephone calls. That’s not what this program is about.” He called the collection “modest encroachments on the privacy” that were overseen by Congress and the surveillance court.

Sources: U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, ACLU v. Clapper opinion (May 7, 2015), copy hosted by the ACLU · Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board report on the telephone records program (Jan. 23, 2014) · Guardian (June 6, 2013) · Guardian (July 1, 2013) · White House, Statement by the President (June 7, 2013)

Clinton ran State Department email on a private server; FBI: “extremely careless”, no charges

Hillary Clinton used a private email server for official business throughout her four years as Obama’s secretary of state. The State Department inspector general found in May 2016 that she never sought approval, that security officials said they would not have approved it, and that by not surrendering work emails before leaving she “did not comply with the Department’s policies that were implemented in accordance with the Federal Records Act”; it made the same finding about Colin Powell’s personal email. On July 5, 2016 FBI Director James Comey said 110 emails in 52 chains held information that was classified when sent and that Clinton and her aides “were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information”, but that “no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case”; no one was charged. A State Department review completed in 2019, under Trump, held 38 people culpable for 91 security violations and found “no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information.”

Their response: Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon, July 5, 2016: “As the secretary has long said, it was a mistake to use her personal email and she would not do it again.” Clinton declined the inspector general’s request for an interview. Her spokesman Nick Merrill, on the 2019 review: “For the umpteenth time the email story is put to bed w/ a clear recognition it was a pointless crusade”.

Sources: State Department Office of Inspector General, report ESP-16-03 (May 2016), archived copy · FBI, statement by Director James Comey (July 5, 2016) · Associated Press (Oct. 19, 2019) · PBS NewsHour / Associated Press (Oct. 18, 2019) · CNN (July 5, 2016)

CIA searched Senate investigators’ computers; its director denied it, then apologized

In March 2014 Sen. Dianne Feinstein accused the CIA of searching a computer network that Senate Intelligence Committee staff were using to investigate CIA torture; Director John Brennan, who had been Obama’s top counterterrorism aide, answered that “nothing could be further from the truth.” On July 31, 2014 a summary of the CIA inspector general’s findings said two agency lawyers and three technical staff “improperly accessed or caused access” to the committee’s side of the network, including a keyword search and a review of some staff emails, and Brennan apologized to the committee’s leaders. The Justice Department declined to open an investigation, and in January 2015 an accountability board that Brennan appointed, led by former Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh, overturned the inspector general’s conclusions, finding the five had acted in good faith and should not be punished. The White House stood by Brennan.

Their response: White House spokesman Josh Earnest credited Brennan with “proactive leadership” for appointing the review board. CIA spokesman Dean Boyd: “Some CIA employees acted in a manner inconsistent with the common understanding reached between [the committee] and the CIA in 2009”. Feinstein, on the board’s findings: “I’m disappointed that no one at the C.I.A. will be held accountable”. Sen. Mark Udall, a Democrat, called for Brennan’s resignation.

Sources: Guardian (July 31, 2014) · New York Times (Jan. 14, 2015)

NPR: about 1,500 U.S. citizens were held for immigration agents in 2007-2015; one for 1,273 days

An NPR analysis of government records published in December 2016 found that from 2007 through July 2015, a span covering the last two Bush years and most of Obama’s presidency, 693 U.S. citizens were held in local jails at the request of immigration officials and 818 more were held in immigration detention centers. The Government Accountability Office later counted, from ICE data that it said the agency does not track systematically, 169 arrests, 37 detentions and 2 removals of people recorded as potential U.S. citizens in fiscal 2015, and 94, 17 and 2 in fiscal 2016; arrests and detentions stayed in the same range in fiscal 2017 through 2019 while recorded removals rose to 15, 21 and 21. Davino Watson of New York, a citizen since 2002, was held by ICE from May 2008 to November 2011; a federal appeals court wrote in 2017 that “the government botched the investigation” but threw out his $82,500 award because the deadline to sue had passed while he was locked up without a lawyer.

Their response: ICE declined NPR’s interview request; an official speaking on background said the agency takes citizenship claims seriously, had set up mechanisms such as an 800 number, and that people picked up sometimes do not know they are citizens (NPR’s paraphrase). U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein, who made the award: Watson “deserves a letter of apology from the United States in addition to damages.”

Sources: NPR (Dec. 22, 2016) · Government Accountability Office, GAO-21-487 (July 2021), full report · Government Accountability Office, GAO-21-487, summary page · NPR (Aug. 1, 2017)

Judge ruled Obama’s detention of migrant families broke a court settlement; removals hit a record

After a surge of Central American families at the border in summer 2014, ICE adopted what a federal judge described as “a blanket policy to detain all female-headed families, including children, in secure, unlicensed facilities” while their cases were decided. On July 24, 2015 U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee ruled the policy “a material breach” of the 1997 Flores settlement on detained children, and found “widespread and deplorable conditions in the holding cells of the Border Patrol stations”. On July 6, 2016 the Ninth Circuit agreed that the settlement covers children held with a parent, but reversed the part of her order requiring release of the parents. Separately, the administration removed a record 438,421 people in fiscal 2013, 83 percent of them without a hearing before a judge, by the Pew Research Center’s reading of Homeland Security data.

Their response: A Homeland Security spokesperson said the department was “disappointed with court’s decision” (NBC News). Secretary Jeh Johnson had said that summer: “once a family has established eligibility for asylum or other relief under our laws, long-term detention is an inefficient use of our resources and should be discontinued.”

Sources: U.S. District Court, C.D. California, Flores v. Johnson, order (July 24, 2015), copy hosted by the New York Times · U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, Flores v. Lynch, No. 15-56434 (July 6, 2016) · NBC News (Aug. 3, 2015) · Pew Research Center (Oct. 2, 2014)

Secret court found part of NSA’s internet collection unconstitutional and faulted misstatements

On Oct. 3, 2011 Judge John Bates of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ruled that part of the National Security Agency’s “upstream” collection of internet traffic was “in some respects, deficient on statutory and constitutional grounds” because it swept in tens of thousands of wholly domestic communications a year. He wrote that the disclosure was “the third instance in less than three years in which the government has disclosed a substantial misrepresentation regarding the scope of a major collection program.” The government had itself brought the problem to the court and tightened its procedures afterward; the opinion stayed secret until the administration declassified it on Aug. 21, 2013, in response to an Electronic Frontier Foundation records request and after the Snowden leaks.

Their response: Intelligence officials told reporters the cause was a complex technical problem, not an intentional violation (Guardian’s paraphrase). Director of National Intelligence James Clapper wrote that declassifying was “not done lightly” but the “harm to national security is outweighed by the public interest”. Sen. Ron Wyden: “The ruling states that the NSA has knowingly acquired tens of thousands of wholly domestic communications”.

Sources: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, memorandum opinion (Oct. 3, 2011), copy hosted by the ACLU · Guardian (Aug. 21, 2013)

Justice Department secretly took AP phone records and called a Fox reporter a possible “co-conspirator”

In May 2013 the Associated Press disclosed that the Justice Department had secretly obtained records for more than 20 phone lines used by its journalists in April and May 2012, in a leak inquiry over a story on a foiled bomb plot in Yemen; Deputy Attorney General James Cole authorized the subpoena after Attorney General Holder recused himself. The same month court records showed an FBI affidavit for a warrant to read Fox News reporter James Rosen’s emails had said there was probable cause he broke the law “at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator”; the department then acknowledged Holder had taken part in approving the warrant. On July 12, 2013 Holder issued revised news-media guidelines that made advance notice to news organizations the presumption.

Their response: A Justice Department official, on the Rosen warrant: “After extensive deliberations, and after following all applicable laws, regulations and policies, the Department sought an appropriately tailored search warrant under the Privacy Protection Act”. AP chief executive Gary Pruitt called the records seizure a “massive and unprecedented intrusion”. Obama said he was “troubled by the possibility that leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable.”

Sources: Guardian / Associated Press (May 13, 2013) · Fox News (May 2013) · NBC News (May 24, 2013), archived copy · NBC News (May 14, 2013), archived copy · Justice Department, Report on Review of News Media Policies (July 12, 2013)

Eight Espionage Act leak cases by 2013, against three under all earlier presidents (press group’s count)

A Committee to Protect Journalists report in October 2013 counted “six government employees, plus two contractors including Edward Snowden” prosecuted since 2009 under the 1917 Espionage Act for leaking to the press, “compared with a total of three such prosecutions in all previous U.S. administrations.” Those charged included Shamai Leibowitz, Thomas Drake, Chelsea Manning, Stephen Kim, Jeffrey Sterling, John Kiriakou and Snowden; two of the cases grew out of investigations inherited from the Bush administration. In the Sterling case the department subpoenaed New York Times reporter James Risen, first in 2008 under Bush and again in 2011 with Attorney General Holder’s approval, and dropped the demand in January 2015, ending a seven-year fight.

Their response: Obama, May 23, 2013: “I am troubled by the possibility that leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable” and “Journalists should not be at legal risk for doing their jobs.” Prosecutors, on Risen, January 2015: “the government does not intend to call him as a witness at trial.”

Sources: Committee to Protect Journalists, The Obama Administration and the Press (October 2013) · New York Times (Jan. 12, 2015) · NBC News (May 24, 2013), archived copy

Obama fired the AmeriCorps inspector general, who said it was payback for probing an Obama ally

In June 2009 Obama removed Gerald Walpin, inspector general of the agency that runs AmeriCorps, telling Congress only that he “no longer” had “the fullest confidence in” him; Walpin had investigated misuse of about $848,000 in grants by a school run by Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, an Obama supporter. After senators objected that the notice gave no reason, the White House cited a board complaint that Walpin had been “confused, disoriented, unable to answer questions” at a May 2009 meeting. A Republican staff report by Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Charles Grassley called the stated reasons “unsupported and unpersuasive”, a watchdog integrity panel closed a complaint against Walpin without action, and a federal judge dismissed his suit for reinstatement on June 17, 2010.

Their response: White House ethics counsel Norman Eisen wrote that Walpin “had exhibited a lack of candor in providing material information to decision makers” and “had engaged in other troubling and inappropriate conduct.” Walpin said the account had “no merit”. House Oversight chairman Edolphus Towns, a Democrat, said he did not believe the president broke the law but called the explanations to date inadequate.

Sources: U.S. District Court, D.C., Walpin v. Corporation for National and Community Service, opinion (June 17, 2010) · Government Executive (June 2009) · Los Angeles Times (Nov. 20, 2009) · Politico (June 2010), archived copy · Politico (November 2009), archived copy

Dozens of inspectors general protested blocked records; a Justice opinion limited access until a 2016 law

On Aug. 5, 2014 inspectors general across the government wrote to Congress about “serious limitations on access to records that have recently impeded the work of Inspectors General at the Peace Corps, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Justice.” On July 20, 2015 the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion that the Inspector General Act “does not supersede the limitations on disclosure” in the wiretap, grand jury and credit-reporting laws, so the department’s own watchdog needed permission for some records. Congress reversed that with the Inspector General Empowerment Act, signed by Obama on Dec. 16, 2016, which grants access to “all records” notwithstanding other law.

Their response: The Office of Legal Counsel opinion said department officials could still give the inspector general the protected material “in connection with many, but not all, of OIG’s investigations and reviews.” The Justice Department inspector general’s office replied that the opinion “undermines the OIG’s independence”.

Sources: Letter from inspectors general to congressional committees (Aug. 5, 2014), House Oversight Committee copy · Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel opinion (July 20, 2015) · Justice Department Office of the Inspector General statement (July 2015), archived copy · Public Law 114-317, Inspector General Empowerment Act of 2016

Libya 2011: the air war went past the War Powers 60-day limit with no authorization from Congress

U.S. forces began strikes in Libya on March 19, 2011 and Obama reported to Congress two days later “consistent with the War Powers Resolution”; no authorization followed and the law’s 60-day limit passed on May 20. The administration’s position was that the mission did not amount to “hostilities” under the law; the New York Times reported that in adopting it Obama rejected the views of the Pentagon general counsel and the acting head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which the paper called “extraordinarily rare”. On June 24, 2011 the House voted 123-295 against authorizing the operation and, the same day, 180-238 against a bill to cut off most funding for it; three weeks earlier it had passed, 268-145, a resolution declaring that the president shall not deploy ground forces there. We found no court ruling on the question.

Their response: White House spokesman Eric Schultz said there had been “a full airing of views within the administration and a robust process”, adding: “It should come as no surprise that there would be some disagreements” about “a statute that is nearly 40 years old”.

Sources: White House, letter from the President on Libya operations (March 21, 2011) · New York Times report by Charlie Savage, as carried by the Seattle Times (June 17, 2011) · Clerk of the House, roll call 493, H.J.Res. 68 (June 24, 2011) · Clerk of the House, roll call 494, H.R. 2278 (June 24, 2011) · Clerk of the House, roll call 411, H.Res. 292 (June 3, 2011)

A drone strike killed U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki without trial; the legal memo stayed secret until 2014

Attorney General Holder told Congress on May 22, 2013 that the United States had “specifically targeted and killed one U.S. citizen, Anwar al-Aulaqi”, in Yemen in 2011, and that three other citizens, including his 16-year-old son, had been killed in such operations but “were not specifically targeted”. The 2010 Justice Department memo justifying the killing was released on June 23, 2014 only after a federal appeals court ordered it in a suit by the ACLU and the New York Times; it concluded that “the Constitution would not require the government to provide further process” before a strike on a citizen it described as an enemy leader whose capture was infeasible. A federal judge dismissed the families’ damages suit on April 4, 2014, so no court ruled on whether the killings were lawful.

Their response: Holder, in the 2013 letter: “not only did I and other Department of Justice lawyers conclude after a thorough and searching review that the operation was lawful, but so too did other departments and agencies within the U.S. government.” ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer called the memo “ultimately an argument that the president can order targeted killings of Americans without ever having to account to anyone outside the executive branch.”

Sources: Attorney General Holder, letter to Senate Judiciary chairman (May 22, 2013) · Los Angeles Times (June 23, 2014) · ACLU press release on the dismissal (April 4, 2014)

Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that Obama’s 2012 recess appointments to the labor board were invalid

On June 26, 2014 the Supreme Court held in NLRB v. Noel Canning that Obama lacked authority to make three appointments to the National Labor Relations Board on Jan. 4, 2012, while the Senate was holding brief pro forma sessions every few days. The court said the appointments came during a three-day break and “Three days is too short a time to bring a recess within the scope of the Clause, so the President lacked the authority to make those appointments.” All nine justices agreed on the result; Justice Breyer wrote for five, and Justice Scalia and three others concurred only in the judgment.

Sources: Supreme Court, NLRB v. Noel Canning, No. 12-1281 (June 26, 2014), text at Cornell Legal Information Institute · NBC News (June 26, 2014)

Courts blocked Obama’s deportation-relief program for parents; the Supreme Court split 4-4

In November 2014 the Homeland Security Department announced DAPA, a program the Fifth Circuit said would make about 4.3 million people eligible for “lawful presence”; 26 states sued. On Nov. 9, 2015 the Fifth Circuit upheld an order blocking the program, finding the states had shown “a substantial likelihood of success on the merits”, and on June 23, 2016 the Supreme Court affirmed “by an equally divided Court”. The 4-4 tie left the block in place without any Supreme Court ruling on whether the program was lawful.

Their response: Obama, June 23, 2016: the outcome was “heartbreaking for the millions of immigrants who’ve made their lives here”, and “the fact that the Supreme Court wasn’t able to issue a decision today doesn’t just set the system back even further, it takes us further from the country that we aspire to be.”

Sources: Supreme Court, United States v. Texas, No. 15-674 (June 23, 2016), text at Cornell Legal Information Institute · U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit, Texas v. United States, No. 15-40238 (Nov. 9, 2015, revised Nov. 25) · SCOTUSblog case page · White House, remarks by the President (June 23, 2016)

Judge ruled health-law payments to insurers had no appropriation; GAO faulted a second ACA program

On May 12, 2016 U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled, in a suit brought by the Republican-led House, that the administration was paying insurers cost-sharing subsidies under the Affordable Care Act with money Congress had not appropriated, writing that “Such an appropriation cannot be inferred”. She put her injunction on hold pending appeal, so the payments continued; the Trump White House ended them in October 2017, citing the dispute. Separately, the Government Accountability Office concluded on Sept. 29, 2016 that the health department “lacks authority to ignore the statute’s directive to deposit amounts from collections under the transitional reinsurance program in the Treasury” after it paid insurers first.

Their response: White House press secretary Josh Earnest, May 12, 2016: “This suit represents the first time in our nation’s history that Congress has been permitted to sue the executive branch over a disagreement about how to interpret a statute.” On reinsurance, GAO recorded the department’s position that the statute “does not prescribe how contributions are to be allocated if the total amount collected is insufficient”.

Sources: U.S. District Court, D.C., House v. Burwell opinion (May 12, 2016), copy hosted by SCOTUSblog · SCOTUSblog (May 12, 2016) · Government Accountability Office, B-328016 (Sept. 29, 2016), archived copy · White House press briefing (May 12, 2016) · NPR (Oct. 13, 2017)

GAO: Pentagon broke the law by swapping five Guantanamo detainees for Bergdahl without notifying Congress

$988,400 spent without legal authority (GAO)

On May 31, 2014 the Defense Department transferred five detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Qatar in exchange for the Taliban’s release of captured U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl, giving congressional committees written notice the same day. The Government Accountability Office concluded on Aug. 21, 2014 that the department “violated section 8111 because it did not notify the relevant congressional committees at least 30 days in advance of the transfer” and, because it spent $988,400 that was not legally available for that purpose, “violated the Antideficiency Act.” GAO opinions are advisory.

Their response: The Defense Department told GAO the “transfer was lawful under section 1035, regardless of whether the Administration complied with any notice requirement”, and argued the notice law was unconstitutional as applied because notice “would have interfered with the Executive’s performance of two related functions that the Constitution assigns to the President: protecting the lives of Americans abroad and protecting U.S. service members.”

Sources: Government Accountability Office, B-326013 (Aug. 21, 2014) · Government Accountability Office, B-326013, decision PDF, archived copy

GAO: the EPA broke the law with “covert propaganda” on social media for its water rule

The Government Accountability Office concluded on Dec. 14, 2015 that the Environmental Protection Agency “violated publicity or propaganda and anti-lobbying provisions contained in appropriations acts” in promoting its “Waters of the United States” rule in 2014 and 2015. It found the agency “engaged in covert propaganda” by using a mass-messaging tool without identifying itself as the author, and broke anti-lobbying limits by linking to pages urging the public to contact Congress; because money was spent for barred purposes it also “violated the Antideficiency Act”. GAO found two other EPA social media campaigns did not break the propaganda rule.

Their response: EPA spokeswoman Liz Purchia: “We use social media tools just like all organizations to stay connected and inform people across the country about our activities. At no point did the E.P.A. encourage the public to contact Congress or any state legislature.”

Sources: Government Accountability Office, B-326944 (Dec. 14, 2015) · New York Times (Dec. 14, 2015)

Obama commented on the open Clinton email inquiry; his attorney general met Bill Clinton at an airport

While the FBI investigated Hillary Clinton’s private email server, Obama said on 60 Minutes on Oct. 11, 2015 that it was “not a situation in which America’s national security was endangered”; FBI officials later told the Justice Department inspector general the remark was a “problem” that prejudged the case. On June 27, 2016 Attorney General Loretta Lynch met Bill Clinton on the tarmac at the Phoenix airport; the inspector general’s June 2018 report found “no evidence” they discussed the investigation but called her failure to cut the visit short “an error in judgment.” That report did not find “documentary or testimonial evidence that improper considerations, including political bias, directly affected the specific investigative decisions” it reviewed. The State Department’s inspector general had found in May 2016 that Clinton “did not comply with the Department’s policies” on preserving records.

Their response: Obama, Fox News Sunday, April 10, 2016: “I guarantee that there is no political influence in any investigation conducted by the Justice Department, or the F.B.I.” His press secretary said the 60 Minutes comments were based on public information and “not intended to influence an independent investigation” (inspector general’s paraphrase). Lynch told the inspector general: “I never spoke to the President directly about it”.

Sources: Justice Department Office of the Inspector General, review of actions before the 2016 election (June 2018), oversight.gov copy · State Department Office of Inspector General, report ESP-16-03 (May 2016), archived copy · CNN (June 30, 2016)

Watchdog found 17 errors in surveillance filings on a Trump adviser, no evidence bias opened the inquiry

The Justice Department inspector general reported in December 2019 that the FBI’s four applications to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, part of an investigation the FBI opened on July 31, 2016, contained “at least 17 significant errors or omissions”; an FBI lawyer who altered an email later pleaded guilty and got probation. The same report “did not find documentary or testimonial evidence that political bias or improper motivation influenced” the decision to open the Russia investigation, and recorded FBI Director Comey’s account that he did not brief the White House on it beyond a general mention to Obama. Special Counsel John Durham’s May 2023 report faulted the FBI for “apparent confirmation bias”; his office charged three people, none of them an Obama White House official, and the two who went to trial were acquitted.

Sources: Justice Department Office of the Inspector General, Review of Four FISA Applications (December 2019) · Report of Special Counsel John Durham (May 12, 2023), archived copy

Trump and his spy chief accused Obama of “treason” over 2016 Russia findings; no charges as of Sept. 2026

In July 2025 Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released documents she said showed a “treasonous conspiracy” in which Obama and his officials “directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment they knew was false”, and sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department; Trump said of Obama on July 22, “It’s there, he’s guilty. This was treason.” The department formed a “strike force”, and a grand jury investigation in Florida followed. NBC News reported on Sept. 10, 2026 that the probe “has not produced any prosecutions”, that its second lead prosecutor had resigned, and that the events lie far outside the usual five-year statute of limitations; the BBC found “little evidence” in the released document against the conclusion that Russia sought to help Trump.

Their response: A spokesperson for Obama, July 22, 2025: “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.” Spokesman Patrick Rodenbush said nothing released “undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes”.

Sources: BBC News (July 23, 2025) · Guardian (July 30, 2025) · NBC News (Sept. 10, 2026) · CBS News (Sept. 30, 2026)

31 campaign fundraisers were named ambassadors in Obama’s second term, an analysis found

A Center for Public Integrity analysis published Jan. 4, 2017 found that in his second term Obama named 31 campaign “bundlers”, supporters who each raised at least $50,000, as ambassadors, nearly all to Western Europe or other wealthy and stable countries, plus 39 more political appointees who were donors or allies. NPR reported in December 2014, citing the American Foreign Service Association, that a little more than 40 percent of his second-term ambassador nominees were political rather than career diplomats, against about 30 percent in recent administrations. The link between a donation and a post is an inference from the pattern, and both parties have followed the practice for decades; the group noted that Obama, unlike his successor, disclosed his bundlers voluntarily.

Their response: Asked about a nominee who had raised at least $500,000 and stumbled at her hearing, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said she “has had her own distinguished private sector career”.

Sources: Center for Public Integrity (Jan. 4, 2017) · NPR (Dec. 3, 2014)

Obama’s lobbyist ban allowed waivers; a review counted more than 70 former lobbyists hired

On Jan. 21, 2009 Obama signed Executive Order 13490, an ethics pledge restricting lobbyists who entered his administration and barring appointees from lobbying former colleagues after they left; the order allowed waivers, which the White House posted online. Politico reported in December 2015 that the administration had “hired more than 70 previously registered lobbyists”, according to a 2014 review by Politico, and that officials were leaving to run industry lobbying groups, including the former Medicare chief who became head of the health insurers’ trade association. The reporting describes loopholes and broken spirit, not a finding by any watchdog that the pledge was violated.

Their response: White House spokesperson Brandi Hoffine: Obama “has done more in the past six years to close the revolving door of special interest influence than any other president”, and “The pledge does not bar everyone with prior lobbying experience from serving in this administration.”

Sources: White House, Executive Order 13490 (Jan. 21, 2009) · White House, ethics pledges and waivers page · Politico (December 2015)

Special counsel found two Obama cabinet secretaries violated the Hatch Act

The Office of Special Counsel told the president on Sept. 12, 2012 that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius “violated the Hatch Act when she made extemporaneous partisan remarks in a speech delivered in her official capacity”, urging Obama’s re-election at a February 2012 event. On July 18, 2016 the office found Housing Secretary Julian Castro violated the same law in a Yahoo News interview in which his statements “impermissibly mixed his personal political views with official agency business”. In both cases the White House indicated it considered the matter resolved; Sebelius’s trip was reclassified as political and the Treasury was reimbursed.

Their response: White House spokesman Eric Schultz on Sebelius: “these were extemporaneous remarks”, the event was reclassified, “the U.S. Treasury has been reimbursed and Secretary Sebelius has met with ethics experts to ensure this never happens again”. Castro: “When an error is made - even an inadvertent one - the error should be acknowledged. Although it was not my intent, I made one here.”

Sources: Office of Special Counsel release on Sebelius (Sept. 12, 2012), archived copy · Office of Special Counsel release on Castro (July 18, 2016), archived copy · Fox News (September 2012) · USA Today (July 18, 2016) · CNN Political Ticker (Sept. 12, 2012), archived copy

Obama’s former CIA director David Petraeus pleaded guilty to mishandling classified notebooks

$100,000 fine

David Petraeus, who led the CIA under Obama until he resigned in November 2012, pleaded guilty in 2015 to a misdemeanor, the unauthorized removal and retention of classified material: eight notebooks he shared with his biographer, which the government said included the identities of covert officers. On April 23, 2015 he was sentenced to two years’ probation and a $100,000 fine, more than the $40,000 prosecutors had agreed to; the government said he had also made false statements to FBI agents. A lawyer for other accused leakers contrasted the outcome with the punishments the same administration sought for them.

Their response: Jesselyn Radack, a lawyer for Edward Snowden, John Kiriakou and Thomas Drake, called the sentence “a slap on the wrist that highlights a gross double standard in leak prosecutions”.

Sources: NPR (April 23, 2015) · ABC News (March 2015)

Veterans Affairs wait lists: watchdog found improper scheduling nationwide; the secretary resigned

The Veterans Affairs inspector general’s Aug. 26, 2014 report on the Phoenix hospital system identified 40 patients who died while on its electronic wait list between April 2013 and April 2014, 28 instances of “clinically significant delays in care”, and more than 3,500 veterans waiting for appointments, many on “unofficial wait lists”; it called “inappropriate scheduling practices” a “nationwide systemic problem”. It said it was “unable to conclusively assert that the absence of timely quality care caused the deaths of these veterans.” Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned on May 30, 2014 after an interim report. The findings concern mismanagement inside the department, not personal gain by Obama or Shinseki.

Their response: Announcing the resignation, Obama praised Shinseki’s commitment to veterans but said the controversy had made his continued leadership untenable, as paraphrased by the New York Times.

Sources: Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, report 14-02603-267 (Aug. 26, 2014), archived copy · New York Times (May 30, 2014)

Then-record 1,715 commutations; last-week clemency for Manning, Lopez Rivera and a general close to him

Obama commuted 1,715 sentences, more than any president before him (Biden later commuted 4,165) and mostly for drug offenders under a 2014 initiative, and granted 212 pardons, at the time fewer than any modern president except the two Bushes (Trump’s first term, with 144, and Biden, with 80, have since granted fewer); USA Today put his overall grant rate at 5.9 percent. On Jan. 17, 2017 he commuted the 35-year sentence of Chelsea Manning, convicted of giving WikiLeaks more than 700,000 documents, and the sentence of Oscar Lopez Rivera, a member of a Puerto Rican nationalist group that claimed more than 100 bombings, who was serving 55 years for seditious conspiracy. The same day he pardoned retired Gen. James Cartwright, a member of his first-term national security team who, the New York Times wrote, had “earned a reputation as the president’s favorite general”; Cartwright had pleaded guilty to misleading investigators in a leak inquiry and was awaiting sentencing, prosecutors had asked for two years in prison, and his lawyer was Gregory Craig, Obama’s former White House counsel. No donor or family link to these grants has been reported.

Their response: A White House official said Obama believed Manning’s crimes were “serious” and “harmful to national security” (Guardian). Sen. John McCain called the Manning commutation a “grave mistake” that “devalues the courage of real whistleblowers who have used proper channels”.

Sources: White House, list of commutations and pardons (Jan. 17, 2017) · White House blog (Jan. 17, 2017) · USA Today (Jan. 19, 2017) · Guardian (Jan. 17, 2017) · CBS News / Associated Press (February 2017) · New York Times (Jan. 17, 2017) · Justice Department, clemency statistics

AP analysis: the administration set records for censoring or denying public-records requests

$28M in legal fees defending denials, fiscal 2014 (AP count)

An Associated Press analysis of fiscal 2014 data found the government censored or fully denied records in 250,581 cases, 39 percent of all Freedom of Information Act requests, a record, while the backlog grew 55 percent to more than 200,000 and it spent about $28 million on lawyers’ fees to keep records secret. When challenged, it conceded in nearly one in three cases that its first decision to withhold was improper. On the other side of the ledger, the White House voluntarily posted its visitor logs online from December 2009.

Their response: White House press secretary Josh Earnest: “When it comes to our record on transparency, we have a lot to be proud of. And frankly, it sets a standard that future administrations will have to live up to.” By the White House’s own method, it released all or part of records in 91 percent of requests.

Sources: PBS NewsHour / Associated Press (March 18, 2015) · White House visitor records page

Personal finances: White House said most of Obama’s $5.5 million income in 2009 came from book sales

$5.5M income in 2009, mostly book sales (White House)

The White House published summaries of Obama’s tax returns; for 2009 it said the family reported adjusted gross income of $5,505,409 and that “The vast majority of the family’s 2009 income is the proceeds from the sale of the President’s books”. That was private book income, not public money. He directed his $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize money to 10 charities, and by 2015 reported income had fallen to $436,065. We found no court, inspector general or congressional finding that he ran a business, took foreign payments or profited from official acts while president.

Sources: White House blog, 2009 tax returns (April 15, 2010) · White House blog, 2015 tax returns (April 15, 2016)

$400 million in cash went to Iran as U.S. prisoners were freed; State Department called it “leverage”

$1.7B settlement: $400M fund plus about $1.3B interest (State Dept.)

On Jan. 17, 2016, as Iran freed American prisoners and the nuclear deal took effect, the administration announced it had settled a decades-old Iranian claim at the Hague tribunal: Iran would get back a $400 million trust fund it had used to buy U.S. military equipment before the two countries broke relations, plus “a roughly $1.3 billion compromise on the interest.” In August 2016, after it was reported that the $400 million had been delivered in cash and held until the prisoners left, State Department spokesman John Kirby said: “we, of course, sought to retain maximum leverage until after American citizens were released.” The settlement was announced publicly at the time and the principal was Iran’s own money; whether holding it back made it a ransom is a characterization the administration rejected. No inspector general or GAO finding on the payment was found.

Their response: Obama, Aug. 4, 2016: “We do not pay ransom. We didn’t here.” On the cash: “The reason that we had to give them cash is precisely because we are so strict in maintaining sanctions and we do not have a banking relationship with Iran that we couldn’t send them a check and we could not wire the money.” Secretary of State John Kerry said the settlement prevented “U.S. taxpayers from being obligated to a larger amount of money.”

Sources: State Department, statement by Secretary Kerry on the Hague claims settlement (Jan. 17, 2016) · State Department, daily press briefing (Aug. 18, 2016) · White House, press conference by the President (Aug. 4, 2016) · White House, statement by the President on Iran (Jan. 17, 2016)

Obama fought ISIS from 2014 under 2001 and 2002 war authorizations; a court declined to rule

On Sept. 10, 2014 Obama announced “a systematic campaign of airstrikes” against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and on Sept. 23 he told Congress he was acting under the 2001 authorization passed after the Sept. 11 attacks and the 2002 Iraq war authorization, both written before the group existed in that form. On Feb. 11, 2015 he sent Congress a draft authorization specific to the group while writing that “existing statutes provide me with the authority I need to take these actions.” An Army captain deployed to the campaign sued, arguing Congress had not authorized it; on Nov. 21, 2016 U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly dismissed the case for lack of standing and as a political question, noting that “Congress has repeatedly provided funding for the effort against ISIL”, so no court ruled on the administration’s legal theory.

Their response: Obama, letter to Congress, Feb. 11, 2015: “Although existing statutes provide me with the authority I need to take these actions, I have repeatedly expressed my commitment to working with the Congress to pass a bipartisan authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against ISIL.”

Sources: U.S. District Court, D.C., Smith v. Obama, memorandum opinion (Nov. 21, 2016) · White House, letter from the President transmitting a draft authorization (Feb. 11, 2015)

Clinton Foundation admitted a foreign-government gift skipped ethics review while she ran State; claimed influence unproven

$500,000 from Algeria in 2010, taken without ethics review

Before Hillary Clinton became secretary of state, the Clinton Foundation agreed with the Obama administration to disclose its donors and submit new foreign-government donations for State Department ethics review. The foundation acknowledged in February 2015 that it took $500,000 from Algeria in 2010 without that review, and Reuters found that its health arm published no donor list from 2010 to 2013 and did not submit new or increased gifts from seven governments. The New York Times reported that the chairman of Uranium One gave the foundation $2.35 million that was not publicly disclosed, and that Bill Clinton was paid $500,000 for a Moscow speech by a bank promoting the company’s stock, while nine U.S. agencies including State approved its sale to Russia’s nuclear agency; the paper wrote that “Whether the donations played any role in the approval of the uranium deal is unknown.” A Justice Department review ordered under Trump in 2017 “found nothing worth pursuing”, the Washington Post reported in 2020.

Their response: Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said no one “has ever produced a shred of evidence supporting the theory that Hillary Clinton ever took action as secretary of state to support the interests of donors to the Clinton Foundation.” Foundation spokesman Craig Minassian: “When anyone contributes to the Clinton Foundation, it goes towards foundation programs that help save lives.” The health initiative’s spokeswoman called the missing donor lists “an oversight which we made up for this year”.

Sources: Washington Post (Feb. 25, 2015) · Reuters (March 19, 2015) · New York Times (April 23, 2015) · Washington Post (Jan. 9, 2020) · PolitiFact (Oct. 24, 2017)

Administration counted 64 to 116 civilians killed by its strikes; an independent tally was 380 to 801

On July 1, 2016 the administration said 473 counterterrorism strikes outside war zones, in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Libya, from January 2009 through 2015 had killed 2,372 to 2,581 combatants and 64 to 116 “non-combatants”. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which tracks strikes through local and international reporting, put civilian deaths over the same period at 380 to 801, about six times the official figure, though its minimum count of all deaths (2,753) was close to the government’s (2,436). The release gave no year-by-year or strike-by-strike detail and left out Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. The strikes began under George W. Bush, for whom the Bureau counted 58; with the release Obama ordered that a summary be published every year.

Their response: White House fact sheet, July 1, 2016: the government “acknowledges that there are differences between U.S. Government assessments and reporting from non-governmental organizations”, and its figures “should be considered in light of the inherent limitations on the ability to determine the precise number of combatant and non-combatant deaths outside areas of active hostilities”. Jennifer Gibson of Reprieve: “The only thing those numbers tell us is that this Administration simply doesn’t know who it has killed.”

Sources: White House fact sheet on the executive order and strike data (July 1, 2016) · Bureau of Investigative Journalism (July 1, 2016) · Guardian (July 1, 2016)

White House used Bill Clinton to float a post to a candidate to clear a Senate primary

On May 28, 2010 White House counsel Robert Bauer acknowledged that in June and July 2009 the White House chief of staff enlisted former President Bill Clinton to raise with Rep. Joe Sestak an unpaid seat on a presidential advisory board, which “would avoid a divisive Senate primary” against Sen. Arlen Specter; Sestak declined, ran and won the primary. Days later Colorado candidate Andrew Romanoff released an email in which deputy chief of staff Jim Messina sent him descriptions of three federal jobs after suggesting he not challenge Sen. Michael Bennet. Bauer concluded the allegations of impropriety “rest on factual errors and lack a basis in the law” and said earlier administrations of both parties had done the same. Rep. Darrell Issa’s campaign had said the offer could amount to felony bribery; after Republicans won the House his spokesman said the committee had “no intention” of subpoenaing anyone.

Their response: Bauer memo: “There was no such impropriety. The Democratic Party leadership had a legitimate interest in averting a divisive primary fight”. White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton on Romanoff: “There were some initial conversations with him, but no job was ever offered.” Issa spokesman Kurt Bardella, November 2010: “This isn’t isolated to the Obama administration. This goes back to everyone since Andrew Jackson.”

Sources: White House, memorandum from the counsel on discussions with Rep. Sestak (May 28, 2010) · CBS News / Associated Press (June 2, 2010) · Roll Call (Nov. 5, 2010), archived copy

GAO: a four-day 2013 Obama trip to Chicago and a Florida vacation cost about $3.6 million

$3.6M for one 2013 trip, Defense and Homeland Security costs (GAO)

The Government Accountability Office estimated in October 2016, at the request of Sen. John Barrasso, a Republican, that Obama’s Feb. 15 to 18, 2013 trip, a speech in Chicago followed by a vacation in Palm Beach, Florida, cost the Defense and Homeland Security departments about $3.6 million, mostly for aircraft; the figure leaves out classified costs and salaries. GAO reported the cost, not a violation, and noted that presidents fly on military aircraft whatever the purpose of the trip. In a later report it put Trump’s first four trips to Mar-a-Lago in 2017 at about $13.6 million, or roughly $3.4 million each. Judicial Watch, a conservative group that sued for the records, put the “known total” of travel by Obama and his family over eight years at $105.7 million, a figure that mixes official, political and personal trips.

Their response: GAO recorded White House officials’ explanation that “to be able to communicate instantly with the U.S. military, the President flies on military aircraft whenever he travels”, whether for official, political or other reasons.

Sources: Government Accountability Office, GAO-17-24 (released Oct. 26, 2016) · Government Accountability Office, GAO-17-24, full report · Government Accountability Office, GAO-19-178 (2019) · Judicial Watch press release (Sept. 14, 2017)

Obama’s advocacy group was reported to offer $500,000 donors quarterly meetings with him

$500,000 reported giving level for the advisory board (New York Times)

In February 2013 the New York Times reported that Organizing for Action, the nonprofit formed from Obama’s re-election campaign, would put people who gave or raised $500,000 or more on a national advisory board with “the privilege of attending quarterly meetings with the president, along with other meetings at the White House.” The White House first referred questions to the group. After criticism from watchdog groups such as Common Cause, the group’s chairman Jim Messina said it would take no corporate money and would disclose its donors, and ruled out donor meetings with Obama at the White House itself. The group could accept unlimited donations; no finding that any law was broken has been reported.

Their response: White House press secretary Jay Carney: “any notion that there’s a price for meeting with the president is simply wrong.” Messina: “Whether you’re a volunteer or a donor, we can’t and we won’t guarantee access to any government officials.”

Sources: CBS News (Feb. 25, 2013) · The Hill (March 8, 2013), archived copy

Obama’s 2008 campaign paid a $375,000 FEC fine, among the largest for a presidential campaign

$375,000 FEC civil penalty (Politico)

Politico reported in January 2013 that Obama for America had agreed to pay the Federal Election Commission $375,000 after an audit of the 2008 campaign, “one of the largest fees ever levied against a presidential campaign”. The main violation was a failure to file required 48-hour notices for nearly 1,300 late contributions totaling more than $1.8 million; the agreement also cited wrong dates on some reports and late refunds of donations over the legal limit. The campaign had raised about $750 million; Politico said $230,000 of the fine came from the campaign and the rest from the Democratic National Committee.

Their response: Obama campaign spokeswoman Katie Hogan: “At the time, the 2008 campaign was record breaking, with over 3 million grass-roots donors”, and “The very few outstanding questions about the $750 million that was raised have now all been resolved.”

Sources: Politico (January 2013)

Operation Choke Point: watchdog found pressure on banks over payday lenders, no wider targeting

In 2013 the Justice Department’s Operation Choke Point issued 60 subpoenas, 20 of them to FDIC-supervised banks, in what it called an effort against consumer fraud; House Republicans said it was meant “to suffocate legitimate businesses to which it was ideologically opposed”, such as payday lenders and gun sellers. The FDIC inspector general reported in September 2015 that the FDIC’s role was “inconsequential to the overall direction and outcome of the initiative” and that it “found no evidence that the FDIC used the high-risk list to target financial institutions”, but that staff had used “moral suasion” to steer banks away from payday lenders in ways “not always consistent with the FDIC’s written policy and guidance.” In August 2017 the Trump Justice Department called the program “a misguided initiative” and ended it; in May 2019 the FDIC settled a payday lenders’ lawsuit by restating its policies, saying this was not “a change in the FDIC’s policies or guidance”.

Their response: Under Obama the Justice Department said the effort was intended to root out fraud by banks and payment processors, and regulators denied discriminating against types of businesses (Politico’s summary). Karl Frisch of the consumer group Allied Progress: the operation “has been incredibly effective at cracking down on the flow of money to fraudulent merchants”.

Sources: FDIC Office of Inspector General, report AUD-15-008 (September 2015) · Politico (Aug. 17, 2017) · FDIC press release (May 22, 2019)

Claim that Obama aides improperly “unmasked” Trump associates: Barr’s prosecutor found no evidence

Republicans accused Obama officials of improperly “unmasking” the names of Trump associates, including Michael Flynn, in intelligence reports; in May 2020 the acting intelligence chief declassified a list of officials whose requests between Nov. 8, 2016 and Jan. 31, 2017 may have revealed Flynn’s name. John Bash, the U.S. attorney Attorney General William Barr assigned to the question, wrote in a report kept secret until BuzzFeed News obtained it in 2022: “My review has uncovered no evidence that senior Executive Branch officials sought the disclosure of” identities “in disseminated intelligence reports for political purposes or other inappropriate reasons”. Bash added that he was “troubled” by how easily political appointees could obtain such information about a campaign and recommended safeguards. The practice is routine: 9,217 requests were fulfilled in 2016 and 16,721 in 2018, by the intelligence director’s count as reported by Fox News.

Their response: The National Security Agency’s memo releasing the names said all the officials were authorized to see the reports and that standard procedures were followed (CNN’s account). Bash, in his report: “There exists a significant potential for misuse of such information”.

Sources: BuzzFeed News (June 1, 2022) · CNN (May 13, 2020) · Fox News (May 2020)

After office: a book deal reported at $65 million, a $400,000 Wall Street speech, a Netflix deal

$65M+ reported for the two-book deal (Financial Times)

Within months of leaving office Barack and Michelle Obama sold two memoirs to Penguin Random House for what the Financial Times reported was more than $65 million, and in April 2017 Obama accepted $400,000 to speak at a health care conference run by the investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald. In May 2018 the couple signed a multiyear production deal with Netflix; its value was not disclosed. This is private income earned after the presidency, which is legal and which Bill Clinton and George W. Bush also earned; the criticism, mostly from the left, was about a former president taking a Wall Street fee, not about any official act.

Their response: Obama spokesman Eric Schultz: “Some of those speeches will be paid, some will be unpaid, and regardless of venue or sponsor, President Obama will be true to his values, his vision, and his record”, adding that “in 2008, Barack Obama raised more money from Wall Street than any candidate in history - and still went on to successfully pass and implement the toughest reforms on Wall Street since FDR.”

Sources: Financial Times report carried by CNBC (April 26, 2017) · Fox Business (April 27, 2017), archived copy · NPR (May 22, 2018) · Vox (April 25, 2017)

Obama Presidential Center opened on 19 acres of public park; its cost rose to about $850 million

About $850M project cost by 2026, privately funded (Guardian)

The Obama Presidential Center opened in June 2026 on 19.3 acres of Chicago’s historic Jackson Park, public land the city turned over to the Obama Foundation; opponents sued, calling it a “massive giveaway”, and a federal judge ruled for the city in June 2019. Construction was paid for with private donations, and the project’s cost grew from about $500 million to an estimated $700 million in 2021 and $850 million by 2026; the city was expected to spend about $175 million of public money on roads and underpasses around the site. Unlike earlier presidential libraries it is run by the foundation rather than the National Archives.

Their response: The foundation says the project produced more parkland and more trees because a road was removed (Guardian’s paraphrase). City lawyer Michael Scodro, in court: “There can be no question that there are direct benefits”. The judge said “The facts do not warrant a trial and construction should commence without delay”.

Sources: Chicago Sun-Times (Aug. 16, 2021) · NBC Chicago (June 11, 2019), archived copy · Chicago Tribune (July 27, 2018), archived copy · Guardian (June 2, 2026) · NBC Chicago (June 16, 2026)

Before the presidency: a donor under federal investigation bought the lot beside Obama’s new home

In June 2005 then-Sen. Obama paid $1.65 million for a Chicago house, $300,000 under the asking price, on the same day the wife of Tony Rezko, a friend and fundraiser already known to be under federal investigation, paid the full $625,000 asking price for the adjoining lot from the same sellers; Obama later bought a strip of that lot from her. Rezko was indicted in October 2006 and convicted in 2008 of corruption involving the Illinois governor’s administration. The Los Angeles Times wrote before the trial that “There is no suggestion that Obama is involved in any of the alleged criminal activity”, and no charge or official finding against Obama over the purchase has been reported. He said the sellers required both sales to close together, and his campaign gave up $85,000 in Rezko-linked contributions.

Their response: Obama, to the Chicago Sun-Times, November 2006: “I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it”, and “I am confident that everything was handled ethically and above board. But I regret that while I tried to pay close attention to the specific requirements of ethical conduct, I misgauged the appearance presented by my purchase of the additional land from Mr. Rezko.”

Sources: Chicago Sun-Times (Nov. 5, 2006), archived copy · Los Angeles Times (Jan. 23, 2008) · Chicago Sun-Times (2015), archived copy