When it comes to scandals at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Reagan-era controversies would appear to take the cake. As Joe Conason explained not too long ago, Reagan’s HUD scandal included “politically connected Republicans criminally exploit[ing] the same housing assistance programs they routinely denounced as ‘wasteful.’”

As it turns out, Bush’s HUD scandals aren’t generating nearly the same amount of attention, but the controversies are nearly as serious.

Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson demanded that the Philadelphia Housing Authority transfer a $2 million public property to a developer at a substantial discount, then retaliated against the housing authority when it refused to do so, a recent court filing alleges.

The authority’s director, Carl Greene, contends in a court affidavit that Jackson called Philadelphia’s mayor in 2006 to demand the transfer to the developer, Kenny Gamble, a former soul-music songwriter who is a business friend of Jackson’s. Jackson’s aides followed up with “menacing” threats about the property and other housing programs in at least a dozen letters and phone calls over an 11-month period, Greene said in an interview.

Greene and his colleagues have alleged in the court filing that Philadelphia is now paying a severe price for disobeying a Bush Cabinet official. The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently vowed to strip the city’s housing authority of its ability to spend some federal funds, a move that the authority said could raise rents for most of its 84,000 low-income tenants and force the layoffs of 250 people. […]

“The secretary was determined that we turn over this land to this specific developer,” Greene said in an interview. “I refused. . . . He didn’t have the ability to remove me. So he resorted to these extraordinary measures to extract what he wanted.”

Mark Kleiman notes that Bush and Jackson have effectively turned the Department of Housing and Urban Development into “an extortion racket,” which, under the circumstances, sounds about right.

So that's what the kids are calling "retirement" these days

Powerline really is the gift that keeps on giving. Today the Rocketman defend one his fav's, James Watt under the ironic headline of Lies and the Lying Liberals Who Tell Them:

Thanks to Jim Watt for pointing out today's article to us. Mr. Watt is a kindly gentleman who was enjoying a well-deserved retirement from public life, when he was dragged back into the political fray, against his will, by virtue of being relentlessly libelled by Bill Moyers and other liberals. It's good to see that, having been forced to participate once more in public debate, he is defending himself with the skill and determination that, decades ago, he brought to his years of public service.

I'll agree with the "well-deserved retirement" part:

In a press conference on 21 September 1983, made the following comment about his staff: "I have a black, a woman, two Jews and a cripple. And we have talent." He resigned eighteen days later.

Oh. And speaking of lying:

On 2 January 1996, Washington lobbyist and former US Secretary of the Interior James Watt pleaded guilty to withholding documents and information from a grand jury in 1990. In exchange for his guilty plea, 18 felony perjury charges against him were dropped. Watt had intentionally concealed documents which had been subpoenaed during a grand jury investigation into the Reagan-era HUD scandal. He received five years' probation, 500 hours of community service, and a $5,000 fine.

Granted he didn't perjure himself about something as reprehensible as, say, a blowjob. No, it was all about money and influence peddling:

Before the plea bargain, Watt had been charged with felony counts of perjury and making false statements to cover up his work as a consultant seeking federal aid from HUD after he left government in 1983.

...so that's okay, good Christian that he is.