David C. Farmer, Trustee vs. Harmon

David C. Farmer, Successor-Trustee vs. Harmon

(Formerly Woo vs. Harmon & Nicholson vs. Harmon)

CV05-00030 DAE KSC

U.S. District Court For the District of Hawaii

Judges: David A. Ezra; Kevin S. Chang

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DEFENDANT’S WITNESS

RAHM EMANUEL

White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama.

From wikipedia:

Rahm Israel Emanuel (born November 29, 1959) is an American politician currently serving as White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama. He served previously as Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Illinois's 5th congressional district from 2003 until his resignation in 2009 to take up his current position in the Obama Administration....

Emanuel is an influential member of the New Democrat Coalition, and a prominent proponent of economic liberalization. He is noted for his combative style and his political fundraising abilities.

Early and personal life

Emanuel was born in Chicago, Illinois to Jewish parents. His father, Benjamin M. Emanuel, a Jerusalem-born pediatrician, was a member of the Zionist organization Irgun. His mother, Martha Smulevitz, was the daughter of a Chicago union organizer. She worked in the civil rights movement and owned, briefly, a local rock-and-roll club. She is now a psychiatric social worker....

Emanuel's first name, Rahm means "high" or "lofty" in Hebrew, and is the namesake of one Rahamim (surname unknown), which means "mercy" in Hebrew, killed in the 1940s fighting for the Zionist group Lehi. The surname Emanuel, adopted by the family in honor of his father's brother Emanuel Auerbach, killed in Jerusalem during a skirmish with Arabs, means God is with us. Sources conflict as to whether the family changed its name from Auerbach in 1933 or 1938....

Emanuel's wife, Amy Rule, converted to Judaism shortly before their wedding. They are members of Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel, a Modern Orthodox congregation in Chicago.

Emanuel is a close friend of fellow Chicagoan David Axelrod, chief strategist for the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign. Axelrod signed the ketuba, a Jewish marriage contract, at Emanuel's wedding, an honor that goes to a close family friend or relative....

Emanuel is known for his "take-no-prisoners attitude" that has earned him the nickname "Rahm-bo." Emanuel is said to have "mailed a rotten fish to a former coworker after the two parted ways." On the night after the 1996 election, "Emanuel was so angry at the president's enemies that he stood up at a celebratory dinner with colleagues from the campaign, grabbed a steak knife and began rattling off a list of betrayers, shouting 'Dead! ... Dead! ... Dead!' and plunging the knife into the table after every name." However, by 2007 his close friends were saying that he has "mellowed out." Stories of his personal style have entered the popular culture, inspiring articles and websites that chronicle these and other quotes and incidents. Though executive producer Lawrence O'Donnell has denied it, the character Josh Lyman in The West Wing is said to be based on Rahm Emanuel.

Career as political staffer

Emanuel began his political career with the public interest and consumer rights organization Illinois Public Action. He went on to serve in a number of capacities in local and national politics, initially specializing in fundraising for Illinois campaigns and then nationally....

At the start of then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton's presidential primary campaign, Emanuel was appointed to direct the campaign's finance committee. Emanuel insisted that Clinton schedule a lot of time for fundraising and greatly delay campaigning in New Hampshire. Clinton agreed and embarked on an aggressive fundraising campaign across the nation. The fundraising paid off later, providing the campaign a vital buffer to keep buying television time as attacks on Clinton's character threatened to swamp the campaign during the New Hampshire primary.

Clinton's most serious primary rival, Paul Tsongas (the New Hampshire Democratic primary winner in 1992), later withdrew, citing a lack of campaign funds. Richard Mintz, a Washington public relations consultant who worked with Emanuel on the campaign, spoke about the soundness of the idea: "It was that [extra] million dollars that really allowed the campaign to withstand the storm we had to ride out in New Hampshire [over Clinton's relationship with Gennifer Flowers and the controversy over his draft status during the Vietnam War ]." Emanuel's knowledge of the top donors in the country, and his rapport with potential donors within the Jewish community helped Clinton amass a then-unheard-of sum of $72 million.

Following the campaign, Emanuel became a senior advisor to Clinton at the White House from 1993 to 1998. In the White House, Emanuel was initially Assistant to the President for Political Affairs and then Senior Advisor to the President for Policy and Strategy. He was a leading strategist in the unsuccessful White House efforts to institute universal healthcare and many other Clinton initiatives.

One of his proudest moments during the Clinton administration "was an event that touched his political sensibilities and his personal ties to Israel: the 1993 Rose Garden signing ceremony after the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization ("PLO"). Emanuel directed the details of the ceremony, down to the choreography of the famous handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat."

Career in finance

After serving as an advisor to Bill Clinton, in 1998 Emanuel resigned from his position in the Clinton administration. He then became an investment banker at Wasserstein Perella (now Dresdner Kleinwort), where he worked until 2002. In 1999, he became a managing director at the firm’s Chicago office. Emanuel made $16.2 million in his two-and-a-half-year stint as a banker, according to Congressional disclosures. At Wasserstein Perella, he worked on eight deals, including the acquisition by Commonwealth Edison of Peco Energy and the purchase by GTCR Golder Rauner of the SecurityLink home security unit from SBC Communications.

Emanuel was named to the Board of Directors for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac") by then President Bill Clinton in 2000. His position paid him $31,060 in 2000 and $231,655 in 2001. During the time Emanuel spent on the board, Freddie Mac was plagued with scandals involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) later accused the board of having "failed in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention." Emanuel resigned from the board in 2001 when he ran for congress.

Election in 2002

After working in investment banking, in 2002 Emanuel pursued the U.S. House seat in the 5th District of Illinois previously held by Rod Blagojevich, who chose not to run for re-election, but instead successfully ran for Governor of Illinois.

His strongest opponent of the seven other candidates in the 2002 Democratic primary — the real contest in this heavily Democratic district — was former Illinois State Representative Nancy Kaszak, who had unsuccessfully opposed Blagojevich in the 1996 primary. The most controversial moment of the primary election came when Edward Moskal, president of the Polish American Congress, a political action committee endorsing Kaszak, called Emanuel a "millionaire carpetbagger who knows nothing" about "our heritage". Moskal also charged that Emanuel had dual citizenship with Israel and had served in the Israeli Army. Emanuel did not serve in the Israeli army, but was a civilian volunteer assisting the Israel Defense Forces for a short time during the 1991 Gulf War, repairing truck brakes in one of Israel's northern bases with Sar-El. Emanuel brought together a coalition of Chicago clergy to denounce the incident. He recalled, "One of the proudest moments of my life was seeing people of my district from all backgrounds demonstrate our common values by coming together in response to this obvious attempt to divide them." Moskal's comments were denounced as anti-Semitic by many, including Kaszak.

Emanuel won the primary and easily defeated Republican candidate Mark Augusti in the general election.

Emanuel was elected after the October 2002 joint Congressional resolution authorizing the Iraq War, and thus was not able to vote on it, however Emmanuel has been the focus of anti-war protests for his support of funding bills for the war in Iraq, and his support, during Democratic party primaries, of Democratic party candidates that are more hawkish. In his first term, Rahm Emanuel was a founding member and the Co-Chair of the Congressional Serbian Caucus.

In 2006, Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass reported he had a newsroom confrontation with Emanuel over Kass’s continued speculation that Emanuel only won his 2002 election because convicted former Chicago water department boss Don Tomczak sent in his employees to work for Emanuel. He also speculated that Mayor Richard Daley’s “underlings” who were sentenced to federal prison for organizing “patronage armies” also helped Emanuel.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman

The position of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman (DCCC) was assumed by Emanuel after the death of the previous chair, Bob Matsui. Emanuel led the Democratic Party's effort to capture the majority in the House of Representatives in the 2006 elections. After Emanuel's election as chairman of the Democratic Caucus, Chris Van Hollen became committee chair for the 110th Congress....

2008 Election

Emanuel declared in April 2006 that he would support Hillary Rodham Clinton should she pursue the presidency in 2008. Emanuel remained close to Bill Clinton since leaving the White House, talking strategy with him at least once a month as chairman of the DCCC. However, Emanuel's loyalties came into conflict when his home-state senator Barack Obama expressed interest in the race; asked in January 2007 about his stance on the Democratic presidential nomination, he said: "I'm hiding under the desk. I'm very far under the desk, and I'm bringing my paper and my phone." Emanuel remained neutral in the race until June 4, 2008, the day after the final primary contests, when he endorsed the eventual winner Obama.

Emanuel was able to easily win re-election to the House, defeating Republican candidate Tom Hanson. Open Secrets reported that Emanuel "was the top House recipient in the 2008 election cycle of contributions from hedge funds, private equity firms and the larger securities/investment industry".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel

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June 4, 2008

Obama's AIPAC Speech, Rahm's Endorsement

by Katharine Jose, The New York Observer

Right after Barack Obama's speech to AIPAC this morning he was endorsed by Rahm Emanuel, a leading member of the House.

(The Illinois congressman has largely stayed out of the election because he is a friend of Obama's and also has close ties to the Clintons.)

Emanuel, who belongs to an Orthodox Jewish congregation in Chicago, then accompanied Obama to a meeting with AIPAC's executive board, Mark Halperin reports.

Here is full text of Obama's speech, as prepared for delivery:

Remarks at AIPAC Policy Conference

Senator Barack Obama

June 4, 2008

As Prepared for Delivery:

It’s great to see so many friends from across the country. I want to congratulate Howard Friedman, David Victor and Howard Kohr on a successful conference, and on the completion of a new headquarters just a few blocks away.

Before I begin, I want to say that I know some provocative emails have been circulating throughout Jewish communities across the country. A few of you may have gotten them. They’re filled with tall tales and dire warnings about a certain candidate for President. And all I want to say is – let me know if you see this guy named Barack Obama, because he sounds pretty frightening.

But if anyone has been confused by these emails, I want you to know that today I’ll be speaking from my heart, and as a true friend of Israel. And I know that when I visit with AIPAC, I am among friends. Good friends. Friends who share my strong commitment to make sure that the bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable today, tomorrow, and forever....

www.observer.com/2008/emanuel-endorses-obama-after-aipac-speech

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Emanuel Rahm is expected to testify regarding his business, professional, political and personal relationships with Barack Obama, Joshua Gotbaum, Judge David Ezra, Judge Kevin Chang, Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo, Oprah Winfrey, Dan Inouye, Daniel Akaka, Ed Case, Ted Stevens, Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate, Dee Jay Mailer, Robert Rubin, Henry Paulson, Goldman Sachs, Carlyle Group, Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), James Baker III, Henry Peters, Richard Wong, Ron Rewald, Sukamto Sia, Guido Giacometti, Susan Tius, James Riady, American International Group (AIG), Jackson Stevens, William J. Clinton, University of Hawaii, East-West Center, William S. Richardson, Nathan Aipa, Colleen Wong, Lyn Anzai, Earl Anzai, John Waihee, Ben Cayetano, Linda Lingle, AIPAC, David Farmer, Kirkland & Ellis, United Airlines, Marsh & McLennan, Chubb Group, Robert Kihune, Sandwich Isles Communications, George Wackenhut, Dredsen Nuclear Power Station, Henry Kissinger, Steve Case, AOL, Dan Case, Suzanne Case, The Nature Conservancy, Faye Kurren, Judge Barry Kurren, Tesoro Petroleum, Aloha Petroleum, Chevron-Texaco, William Simon, Lamar Hunt, Mark Hemmeter, Diane Plotts, Gale Norton, Hank Brown, Shell Oil Company, Rupert Murdoch, David Murdoch, Carla Hills, Paul Allaire, Emily’s List, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, Stuart Ho, Greg Dunn, Hawaii Nature Center, Governor Rod Blagojevich, and other entities to be named upon discovery.