FACTBOX: Geithner "issues" have plagued other nominees
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's choice for Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, is taking heat over his taxes and the immigration status of a housekeeper. Similar issues sank others nominated by U.S. presidents for senior positions in recent years.
Here are some who withdrew from consideration:
ZOE BAIRD
Nominated by Bill Clinton in 1993 for attorney general. Baird withdrew from consideration after she admitted to hiring two illegal immigrants as a driver and a nanny and not paying their social security taxes. Baird, a high-profile lawyer, went on to serve on Clinton's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.
LINDA CHAVEZ
Nominated by George W. Bush in 2001 for Secretary of Labor. The nomination ran into trouble when word surfaced that Chavez allowed a Guatemalan woman who was in the United States illegally to live in her home in the early 1990s and gave her spending money.
Chavez later withdrew her nomination, saying she had became a "distraction." Chavez insisted she had not been aware of the woman's immigrant status and had simply helped someone in distress.
BERNARD KERIK
A former New York City Police Commissioner nominated by George W. Bush in 2004 to be Secretary of Homeland Security.
Kerik withdrew from consideration for personal reasons, saying it was in the best interest of the administration.
Kerik said that while preparing for his confirmation hearing, he had uncovered information questioning the immigration status of a former housekeeper and nanny. Kerik also said that it had been brought to his attention "that for a period of time during such employment, required tax payments and related filings had not been made."
KIMBA WOOD
Bill Clinton's second unsuccessful nominee for attorney general in 1993. Like Zoe Baird, Wood had hired an undocumented immigrant as a nanny. Unlike Baird, Wood employed the undocumented immigrant before it became illegal to do so. However, faced with a repeat of the controversy over the Baird nomination, Wood took herself out of contention.
Clinton's third nominee for the top U.S. law enforcement position, Janet Reno, was confirmed.
(Reporting by Joanne Allen; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
