Feds: Obama appointee not a target

Posted: Thursday, March 12, 2009 1:11 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: The First 100 Days, Barack Obama

From NBC’s Pete Williams
At least two employees of the District of Columbia's Office of the Chief Technology Officer were arrested today, as FBI agents conducted a search in what several law enforcement officials say is a corruption investigation.

The former head of the office, Vivek Kundra, was just last week named by the president to be Chief Information Officer for the Obama administration, but officials say he was not a target of the investigation.

The FBI vetted his White House appointment. If he had been thought to be involved in any corruption at that point, it would have been flagged, one official says. But, the official cautions, who knows where the investigation will go from here?

The D.C. office searched today handles all of the city's computer contracting and maintains many city records, including the terms of local government contracts.

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Comments

Yeah, and Madoff wasn't a target at first either.

Bee (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 1:22 PM)

Amazing how quickly a few commentors were on another post to claim the Obama administration crooked. Thanks for the facts, FR.

Jody, Iowa (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 1:24 PM)

Let's see how fast Limbaugh and Hannity can obscure the facts and take this out of context to make the President look bad for no reason whatsoever.

Jose Von Hussein - The United States of America (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 1:32 PM)

HEY FBI...

Dick Cheney is over there
and there's George Bush......

MSierra, SF (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 1:33 PM)

"GONZO-GATE".

Z (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 1:33 PM)

"The FBI vetted his White House appointment. If he had been thought to be involved in any corruption at that point, it would have been flagged...

The FBI again foiled the conspiracy theorist. Yesterday the FBI clarified the rumor of Nancy Pelosi's plane travel. Today the FBI clarified that they were not investigating an Obama appointment. In their circular thinking, the conspiracy theorists will suspect the FBI.

Actually I'm glad to see the FBI investigating potential wrong-doing. Our technology/computer systems are a point of risk. Keeping our network secure is a big deal. Now lets have two degrees of separation between what the FBI is doing and what our President is doing.

Ron Indiana (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 1:34 PM)

Thank you for your honest coverage of this situation. The Huffington Post's headline suggests that Obama's appointment was involved and should reflect on The President. Shameful reporting! Thank you again for treating this ethically.

Trish Stelten (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 1:38 PM)

Trish Stelten (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 1:39 PM)

"But, the official caustions, who knows where it goes fron there?"

Another crook on the Obama staff.

Wonder if he'll 'waive' the standard,.

This guy makes Clinton look like an altar boy.

no joe, no bo, nj (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 1:40 PM)

""But, the official caustions, who knows where it goes fron there?"

Another crook on the Obama staff.

Wonder if he'll 'waive' the standard,.

This guy makes Clinton look like an altar boy."
no joe, no bo, nj

Hey njnb, do you ever have anything positive to say? ...At all?

Jonathan, Seattle (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 1:59 PM)

If the Obama appointee is the target then the FBI is guilty of malfesance because the vetting process and background check by the FBI should have excluded this individual.

For all the idiots out there ready to tie this person to the President, just remember, he knows NOTHING about anybody that he appoints except their public persona. He leaves it up to the professionals at the FBI to ferret out the crooks.

There is no pleasing a loud minority who see evil in everything the President does.

I don't think the Limbaughs and Hannity's of the world have a monopoly on integrity. Afterall, Rush is a non-convicted drug addict who broke the law with his doctor shopping and Hannity promoted the croked financier, Mr. Stanford who is a target of federal investgators. Can you say glass houses?

Sheila, Pikesville, MD (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 2:11 PM)

Thank you FR. You should have seen how this thing blew up on the CNN blog. Their entire first article was something like "FBI officials raided the offices of Obama's new appointment early this morning." That was the whole thing. The right-wing hacks went CRAZY. Thanks for waiting until you had the whole story. You guys are the best.

Brian Crooks, Naperville, IL (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 2:22 PM)

If Vivek Kundra is not the target of any investigation than what's all the hubb bubb? This seems like a non story intended to find something, desperately anything to discredit this Administration. shame shame shame!

eagle1776 (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 2:24 PM)

Corruption on its scale and magnitude is slowly being revealed and hopefully will continue to do so for the sake of the people. Because we can't heal if we don't resolve the root problem.

I saw this on the other blog and wow, that blog exploded into the President can do no right and he is absolute in corruption. Although it stated what FR stated, no one read that line.

The hate for this administration is painfully loud on these news blogs yet when you talk to the average person, they are supporting our President.

I'm still waiting for those who tout that President Obama is running the country into the ground.. just look at the dow. It's down.. 'fill in the blank' points. yet for the last three days they have been strangely quiet. *puts finger to lips* hmmmm

MN in Phoenix, AZ (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 2:40 PM)

Thank you, First Read.

Tanya, Canton, GA (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 2:42 PM)

MN in Phoenix, AZ: We're both thinking the same thing. There was this clown who called himself "Bob Smith, Obamanation, USSA" who came on every day with a market report and no matter what it was, if it was -10 or -150, he said it was all Obama's fault and what a terrible President he was and that he was deliberately killing the market to open the door for socialism...I wonder where he is now? Probably posting under another of his dozen aliases.

Brian Crooks, Naperville, IL (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 3:04 PM)

Afterall, Rush is a non-convicted drug addict who broke the law with his doctor shopping....
Sheila, Pikesville, MD (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 2:11 PM)
================================================
As long as you all keep calling Rush a drug-addict, I'll keep reminding you that Obama is a coke addict. He admitted to it in his books. However the moderators keep censoring my reminders.

Remind me again (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 3:06 PM)

What many of you don't understand is this has been going on for years in DC. I for one know that Vivek Kundra and the City Council were told of these issues when the CTO started and have been consistently not doing anything. Mr. Kundra took this job in DC Govt as a stepping stone and nothing else. You should all look at his resume and notice he hasn't done anything more than 2 plus years. Its this type of arrogance that is being placed on him and the Obama administration. This is what is called inexperience. He may not be a part of the investigation but it happened on his watch!

Mike (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 3:15 PM)

The hate for this administration is painfully loud on these news blogs yet when you talk to the average person, they are supporting our President.
---MN in Phoenix, AZ

I am convinced that they are "infested" with paid Republican operatives. No honest person can put out so much misinformation day after day and not realize once in a while that they are mistaken. I saw a big increase in this sort of sleaze during the campaign when McCain's website urge supporters to go to the major news blogs and post anti-Obama messages. They were to report back what they had posted and when and were to receive points redeemable for prizes. I believe some such program is still in existance because the mindless nonsense continues unabated.

nuanced (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 3:35 PM)

All this happened right under Kundra's nose and leadership!! And he's suppose to be saving us taxpayer money. This is another distraction to Obama and Kundra should resign IMMEDIATELY - There are a ton of other cios out there.

Larry J, Fremont, CA (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 3:54 PM)

I see all the liberals are going back to their rat holes screaming Bush Bush Bush did it...
Cheney Cheney Cheney did it
Liberals are so low that Catfish even suck the venom from their bodies.
New Game Show. "The First 50 Days"
How many criminals do you have on your staff?

Also we have a renaming ceremony:
The Titanic is now The "Ms NoBama"

What a pathetic piece of poop!
You have to use the right words now because the pathetic liberals will cry racist!!! How dare you!!!

clearvoice (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 3:55 PM)

Not a target? Did the Obama people threaten them? Did they buy anybody off?

It's amazing that the obama corps are tax cheats and even worse but never get into trouble. Even Geithner never had to pay penalties. What the hell is THAT all about?

Monkberry Moon (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 4:00 PM)

Amazing how the Obama Kool-aid lovers are quick to cover up the fact that once again the Obama team has not done its homework.
As the CIO you are responsible for knowing and putting in place the controls that not only protect information but protect the integrity of your shop. If this guy couldn't run a relatively small shop like the DC government how is supposed to be in charge of the US?
Or what pictures does he have?

Robert, Pronceton (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 4:00 PM)

More egg on the face of the anti-Obama contingent on the web. But to give those people credit, my reaction would have been different if this was in the vicinity of a Bush appointee, only due to a lack of trust and confidence. The difference Bush earned my distrust...right now Obama hasn't proven himself untrustworthy by most. But this Vivek Kundra should not be smeared by partisans.

Cjake (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 4:04 PM)

Its amazing the naiviete people seem to have, Im not saying right or left wing people, I think those titles are ridiculous. It's schoolyard antics, but on an adult level, people are acting like everything is rosy and there's a few bad eggs. The fact is, and we know this otherwise our arts wouldn't reflect it: everything is corrupt, and there's a few good eggs. Personally, I'm glad the people who have cheated and tried to get ahead have been found out.

What is interesting to me is if you look at the background of many people in the last administration, many things were divulged about those officials that were questionable but never questioned. I think a lack of loyalty to honor and truth, and instead to "ideals and sides" is dangerous to human existence.

Would you rather the last administration that was so shadowed and hid things well, or an administration that consists of real people, that may be honest, may be cheats, but the cheats are found out and let go?

David LeVack, Florida-Michigan-San Jose, U.S. (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 4:07 PM)

As much as everyone wants the new CIO of a $78 billion IT spending budget to be exonerated you have to keep in mind that the office he just vacated is being investigated. If you look at the Indian outsourcing firm whose CEO was arrested this morning, AITC, you see that they survived solely on DC local government projects of a wide variety.

One task I hope Vivak Kundra takes very seriously is putting in place controls to avoid the types of under the table deals that occur in many government contracting situations.

Richard Stiennon, Birmingham, MI (Sent Thursday, March 12, 2009 4:41 PM)

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