Stephen D reports on what is likely just the cover reason for the Phil Gramm Friday night dump attributing Gramm’s resignation to the “Americans are whiners!” comment. I think that is just cover for the more likely real reason:

UBS, LGT Helped Hide Assets, Evade Taxes, Senate Says
By David Voreacos and Carlyn Kolker

July 17 (Bloomberg) — UBS AG and Liechtenstein bank LGT Group aided rich U.S. clients who wanted to disguise ownership of accounts and evade taxes on hidden assets, a Senate subcommittee said.

UBS, the world’s largest wealth manager, hid as much as $17.9 billion for 19,000 Americans who didn’t declare assets to the Internal Revenue Service, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a report released in Washington late yesterday. LGT, owned by Liechtenstein’s ruling family, fostered a “culture of secrecy and deception” while assigning code names to U.S. clients, the panel said.

Remember that Phil Gram works for and lobbies for one arm of UBS in the USA. More below…

 
Interesting side note from similar article ABC story posted earlier:

A former UBS private banker, Bradley Birkenfeld, has agreed to a plea deal and is reported to be cooperating with US authorities in bring charges against American citizens on tax evasion charges.

As soon as I read that article linked out by jimstaro at ePM I figured there might be a link.

UBS is still Phil Gramm’s gig, isn’t it? So sayeth his Wiki:

Gramm is a vice-chairman of UBS Investment Bank.

And we all know about McCain’s lobbying troubles because of Gramm:

U.S. Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign faces questions regarding a top economic adviser’s work for Swiss banking giant UBS Warburg.

Economist and former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm is vice chairman of UBS Investment Bank and has lobbied Congress on the company’s behalf.

UBS has been hit hard by the U.S. housing and mortgage meltdowns.

Smoke >>>> Fire? Might be worth fanning the flames a little? Face it… Calling Americans whiners is nothing compared to things that republican criminals typically do.

It would be interesting if Cindy McCain’s (or one of her trusts’) name was on that list of IRS tax dodgers, eh? That would clearly typify a republican circle jerk we have come to expect from the GOP these days. Nevermind the fact that Cindy has McCain has a proven track record of not paying her taxes. And when there is a Friday Night Dump involving corrupt republicans and meant to distract the candy coated media from the real story, timing is everything.

idredit, over at Booman Tribune where this is x-posted, as well, chunked in the last piece I was about to go looking for.

you may be on to something here…

but it depends on the meaning of resign Gramm remains in the background as an advisor. But coupled with the UBS naughty naughty, there’s the deep in the poop sub-prime debacle.

The Carpetbagger Report

Is Gramm gone, or is he only kinda sorta gone?

Yesterday, the McCain campaign disputed part of Novak’s report, saying that Gramm would no longer be a surrogate. But the report also said Gramm would advice McCain on economic matters, and on this, the campaign said nothing.

Gramm’s decision comes after word that, in his weekend column, Robert Novak was to report that the Gramm and McCain had talked subsequent to the ill-time remarks and that he’d stay on as a surrogate and adviser.

But McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said earlier today that Gramm would no longer represent the campaign.

Gramm’s move tonight appears to be a move to clarify his status. But when asked whether this meant he’d no longer advise or represent McCain, Bounds only said that it was Gramm’s decision to step down from his co-chair post.

So, it’s just another round of double-talk from McCain. First the campaign agrees with Gramm, then it doesn’t. Gramm is a surrogate, then he isn’t, then he is, then he isn’t. Gramm is an advisor, then he isn’t, then he might be.

I can understand the campaign’s embarrassment, but this is ridiculous. Gramm not only thinks we’re a “nation of whiners,” he’s also, more importantly, the man whose financial deregulation efforts made the market meltdown possible.

While Gramm’s help in advancing banking deregulation is widely considered partially responsible for the Mortgage Crisis, deregulation also helped UBS move into the markets where it set up these illegal tax havens.