Rahm Emanuel is theWhite House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama. He once said, “Rule one: Never allow a crisis to go to waste. They are opportunities to do big things.” 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." Emanuel was named to the Board of Directors for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac") by then President Bill Clinton in 2000. During his time on the board, Freddie Mac was plagued with scandals involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities. The Obama Administration rejected a request under the Freedom of Information Act to review Freddie Mac board minutes and correspondence during Emanuel's time as a director Emanuel is a close friend of fellow Chicagoan David Axelrod, chief strategist for the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign.
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