… reminds us of the two biggest Larry Summers scandals at Harvard. The blogger reminds us of this because he doesn’t think Summers should be considered for head of the Federal Reserve. He doubts Summers could even make it through a Senate confirmation.
…He … was criticized for shielding his protégé Andrei Shleifer from accusations of conflict of interest when Shleifer sought lucrative commercial deals for himself as he headed a government-sponsored Harvard team to advise Russia on privatization. The university paid $26.5 million to the U.S. government to settle a lawsuit that Shleifer’s activities violated its contract.
This controversy, too, would resurface in any hearings on Summers’ fitness for the Fed job. Coupled with his own dubious fees from various Wall Street firms who wildly overpaid him for “advice” while he was aiding candidate Obama, the Shleifer affair would raise questions about Summers’ judgment in these matters. …
Both of these sleazy tales have been extensively covered on University Diaries.