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HUD Secretary Jackson Announces Resignation
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In a January 2007 exchange of e-mails, assistant secretaries Kim Kendrick and Orlando J. Cabrera discussed how they could make Greene "less happy." Kendrick asked if they could "take all of his federal dollars away."
Cabrera, who left HUD earlier this year, said in an interview that the discussion was not related to the property that Gamble sought. He said it was a conversation reflecting frustration with Greene's perceived lack of cooperation in HUD's review of its accessible housing.
On Thursday, a federal judge overseeing the Philadelphia authority's lawsuit said there was clear evidence of HUD bias against Greene, but it wasn't clear exactly to what it was related. He said he would rule soon about what he could do regarding HUD's actions and future depositions. He had previously said housing authority lawyers could not question Jackson.
Jackson is also the target of investigations by a federal grand jury, the FBI and the Justice Department. Those investigations began after a speech in Dallas in April 2006, in which Jackson said he had arranged the firing of a contractor who told him, "I don't like President Bush."
The secretary later said he concocted the anecdote, and HUD's inspector general concluded that Jackson had not exercised improper influence over contracts. But the continuing probes are looking at whether Jackson was truthful when he told a Senate committee last May, "I don't touch contracts."
One issue of interest to investigators is whether Jackson intervened in the business of the New Orleans and Virgin Islands housing authorities to steer work to friends. One source briefed on the probe said the investigators have been working to get a key former HUD employee to cooperate in providing information about Jackson's role.
Jackson came to Washington with the Bush administration. He was first appointed deputy secretary of HUD, and was promoted in December 2003 after Mel Martinez left the agency to run for the Senate from Florida; Jackson was confirmed by the Senate in March 2004. Jackson previously worked for a Texas power company and had spent more than a decade directing public housing authorities in the District, Dallas and St. Louis.
Staff writers Dan Eggen and William Branigin contributed to this report.
