Paul Krugman on Jack Lew, and (what I considered to be a stupid) drive to make him Treasury Secretary.

I do believe this is Sec. Timothy Geithner calling out the Huffington Post... (VIDEO)

Because I know of no Media organization more dedicated to this lie, that HuffPo:

Rachel Maddow's Interview with Timothy Geithner (VIDEO)

While I'm never the biggest Rachel fan, I am (believe it or not) a Geithner fan (blame Dad and all those Econ books I've been reading). This interview was particularly enlightening.

Part 1:

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Part 2:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Uhhh...no, Secretary Geithner...

I've been able to give Geithner a pass on the stuff he's been doing so far, but not this:

Now that bailed-out banks are reporting record-breaking profits, the U.S. taxpayer, who bought into these institutions at bottom-barrel prices, could wind up on the winning end of a nice profit. That's what happens, after all, when you buy low and sell high.

When Congress bailed out Wall Street, it required banks to give warrants to the treasury. That way, if the market turned around and a bank's stock rose, the taxpayer could profit. Indeed, the notion that the taxpayer might profit from the bailout was floated by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

The Congressional Oversight Panel, however, looked into the early sales of warrants and found earlier this month that Treasury would only get about 66 percent of the market value for the warrants. And it was doing so in private negotiations with the banks.

A group of Democrats in Congress want to end that practice. A bill introduced by Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio) would require the Treasury to sell warrants in a public auction and do so in a transparent way. On Wednesday, the Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations holds a hearing on the sale of warrants, focusing on protecting profits for the taxpayer.

I'm all for dealing us out. The quicker the Banks get on their feet, and give us back the money, the better. But we sure as hell shouldn't be taking a loss on this crap. If they lose money or go kaput, then find. We tried. We took the risk, it didn't work out. But if they make money, we make money. End of discussion.

Timothy Geithner with Charlie Rose (VIDEO)

This the complete interview, in case you missed it (like I did), or forgot to TiVo it (like I did).

WSJ: Is Timothy Geithner in trouble??

Facing the most severe economic catastrophe in...literally...decades, what are we going to talk about? Another Nanny of suspect immigration status.

You have got to be freakin' kidding me...

But apparently, scumbag Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) brought the subject up today, and now Max Baucus (D-MO), according to Politico (no link because it's on the Politico 44 site), has called committee members to his office this afternoon to discuss the issue ahead of Geithner’s confirmation hearing.

Again, you have got to be freakin' kidding me...

We're doing this?? We're going there???

Why is it that the most landbound, border-locked states always getting their knickers in a twist about the immigration status of...well, whoever??

I hold the Senator from Iowa, right now, beneath contempt. If this is the kind of crap he wants to pull, then the sooner he retires the better.

Oh, and the Wall Street Journal has it too. (I thought they'd championed Geithner's appointment like a month ago??).

A reading of the article in Murdoch seems to tamp down some of the smoke coming from the headlines at TPM and Politico:

According to people familiar with the matter, Mr. Geithner employed a housekeeper whose immigration papers expired during her tenure with Mr. Geithner, currently president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The woman went on to get a green card to work legally in the country and federal immigration authorities didn't press charges against her, these people said.

The second issue involved taxes due while Mr. Geithner worked for the International Monetary Fund between 2001 and 2004. As an employee, Mr. Geithner was technically considered self-employed and was required to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for himself as both an employer and an employee.

He apparently failed to do so, resulting in Internal Revenue Service audits his last two years at the IMF. As soon as the IRS brought the issue to his attention, he paid the taxes with interest, these people said.

It's unclear how much of an impediment these issues will be to Mr. Geithner's nomination. On its merits, his ascension has been widely praised. Mr. Geithner spent most of his career managing government responses to financial crises, from the 1990s bailouts of Mexico, Indonesia and Korea, to the market meltdown that has brought Wall Street to its knees.

But wait, Murdoch continues:

Obama aides said they didn't believe these issues would present a problem, given the minor nature of the infractions and the gravity of the role he has been nominated to take.

On the tax front, Mr. Geithner's oversight is not uncommon. The IRS has mandated loose rules for U.S.-born IMF employees unaware of their obligations to pay payroll taxes.

Sen. Baucus nonetheless decided to hold a closed-door meeting to allow the two matters to be aired before Mr. Geithner's public confirmation hearing.

"It's important that I talk to senators, which I'm going to be doing," Sen. Baucus said as he went into the meeting.

Democratic senators plan to defend Mr. Geithner, saying that the nature of the complaints pale in comparison to the gravity of the crises he has been asked to face, a severe economic recession, turmoil in the financial markets and the collapse of the U.S. auto industry.