What is Obama's Pay Czar's Pay?

He was hired by the Obama administration to slash executive compensation at companies bailed out by the federal government. But now he’s involved in a salary controversy of his own. In a Washington corruption chronicles classic, the Obama administration can’t even shoot straight on the pay of its pay czar!

I’m speaking of Kenneth Feinberg, President Obama’s “Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation.” Judicial Watch recently received documents from the Treasury Department indicating that Feinberg received a $120,830 annual salary to establish executive compensation levels at companies bailed out by the federal government. We got hold of these documents pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request we filed on July 20, 2010.

Now there’s nothing necessarily unusual about a federal appointee hauling in six figures. But here’s the problem: These documents contradict multiple press reports that Feinberg would not be compensated for this work for the Treasury Department at all.

When President Obama appointed Washington lawyer Feinberg “Pay Czar” in 2009, the press reported that he would perform his duties pro bono. Dozens of mainstream media stories confirmed that Feinberg, founder and managing partner of the Washington, D.C., firm Feinberg, Rozen, LLP, would not receive a salary to set pay limits for more than two dozen executives at companies receiving government bailouts.

For example, Forbes magazine reported in August 2009 (via Reuters), “Feinberg is receiving no compensation for his role.”

However, Judicial Watch has obtained the Treasury Department’s June 8, 2009, welcome letter to Feinberg, congratulating him for being selected “Special Master of Executive Compensation” and listing his annual salary at $120,830. Judicial Watch has also uncovered a “Notification of Personnel Action” from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management dated June 8, 2009, also establishing Feinberg’s salary level at $120,830.

So why the discrepancy?

Judicial Watch repeatedly attempted to get an answer from Mr. Feinberg. We also repeatedly asked Treasury Press Secretary Mark Paustenbach. We finally got a response after our release hit the wires yesterday. A representative of Mr. Feinberg finally called Judicial Watch and stated that Mr. Feinberg pays his government salary back “every two weeks.” (See his response to our report at the Washington Examiner.)

But regardless of the explanation, we have yet another reason why more of these Obama czars should go through the Senate confirmation process rather than being simply installed into power by Obama. We shouldn’t have to pepper the Obama administration with FOIA requests to know what these czars are doing and how much they’re getting paid to do it. More information about these Obama czars should be part of the public record and transparent to the American people.

(And that’s why we’ve initiated a comprehensive investigation of Obama czars. You can read more about these investigations here.)

By the way, this salary controversy is not the only ongoing Judicial Watch investigation involving Feinberg. We also have a FOIA lawsuit against the Treasury Department to obtain documents related to meetings between Feinberg, AIG Chairman Robert Benmosche, and New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley.

You may recall, in March 2009, AIG disbursed $165 million in taxpayer-funded Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds to its top executives, prompting a massive public backlash. Obama officials reportedly lobbied Congress to insert legislative language allowing the AIG bonus payments and then apparently lied about their knowledge of the payment scheme. The meetings at issue in Judicial Watch’s FOIA request took place in November 2009, just weeks after Feinberg publicly announced pay cuts and salary caps for AIG’s top paid executives.

Like Obama’s other czars, Feinberg wields a tremendous amount of power, yet there is too little transparency regarding his activities. This is a dangerous combination.