WASHINGTON — Tom Daschle waited nearly a month after being nominated to be secretary of health and human services before informing Barack Obama that he had not paid years of back taxes for the use of a car and driver provided by a wealthy New York investor.
Daschle, one of Obama’s earliest campaign supporters, paid $140,000 to the U.S. Treasury on Jan. 2 and about two days later informed the White House and the Senate Finance Committee, according to an account provided by his spokeswoman and confirmed by the Obama administration.
Although Daschle had known since June that he needed to correct his tax returns, he never expected such a “jaw-dropping” sum and “thought it was being taken care of” by his accountant, said spokeswoman Jenny Backus.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Saturday that Obama stands behind his friend.
The Senate Finance Committee plans to discuss the issue Monday.
Daschle’s financial statement to the Office of Government Ethics details how, without becoming a registered lobbyist, he made millions of dollars giving public speeches and private counsel to insurers, hospitals, real estate agents, farmers, energy firms and telecommunications companies with interests in Washington. He was paid more than $5 million in two years.
