Last Friday the Department of Injustice went out of its way to announce that it would Not pursue a prosecution of Goldman Sachs for issues during the financial crisis. This declaration irked Senator Carl Levin because Goldman Sachs CEO - Lloyd Blankfein - apparently lied during a Senate hearing. Bill Singer, an attorney who is also a writer for Forbes stated in his article "Senator Levin Slams Department of Justice's Inaction Against Goldman Sachs" -that;
There’s simply no polite way to put it: Senator Levin is pissed.
While we will get into more details on the vast issues below the fold, the fact of the matter remains - Goldman Sachs and its partners in bad faith (like Bain Capital) always appear to be Above the Law. Despite the depravity of their skullduggery. As Senator Carl Levin stated upon
his own website - he alleges inadequacies of the Department of Justice and lack of morals of Goldman Sachs - stating;
“-- Whether the decision by the Department of Justice is the product of weak laws or weak enforcement, Goldman Sachs’ actions were deceptive and immoral --".
Fraud is Deception!
Senator Carl Levin's Full Remarks
While the Senator is most definitely miff'd beyond the norm; his solution lacks equality to his angst. Senator Carl Levin proposes to increase the strength & reach of Dodd Frank. Like that's really worked well thus far (I know, my cynicism is gigantic - but those of you who have followed - are well aware why).
Be that as it may - here's Senator Levin's full remarks and his website link;
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Sen. Levin Statement on DOJ Announcement on Goldman Sachs
WASHINGTON – Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., issued the following statement on the Department of Justice’s announcement regarding Goldman Sachs:
“Our investigation of the origins of the financial crisis revealed wrongdoing and failures among mortgage lenders, banking regulators, credit rating agencies and investment banks. One of those investment banks, Goldman Sachs, created complex securities that included “junk” from its own inventory that it wanted to get rid of. It misled investors by claiming its interests in those securities were “aligned” with theirs while at the same time it was betting heavily against those same securities, and therefore against its own clients, to its own substantial profit. Its actions did immense harm to its clients, and helped create the financial crisis that nearly plunged us into a second Great Depression.
“Those are the facts the subcommittee found. Whether the decision by the Department of Justice is the product of weak laws or weak enforcement, Goldman Sachs’ actions were deceptive and immoral. That’s why I and others fought so hard to include tough new conflict-of-interest provisions in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, to help ensure that Wall Street could no longer engage in such blatant behavior.
“Yesterday’s announcement makes it even more important that regulators implement Dodd-Frank with rules that do not water down it down, and that they enforce those rules with vigor. The integrity of our financial markets and the strength of our economy demand that we make sure that actions such as Goldman Sachs’ and other recently discovered misdeeds by financial institutions are ended.”
Writer Bill Singer Goes on a Righteous Rant Apropos
While we are happy that Senator Levin said the Department of Justice may be inept and what Goldman Sachs did was immoral; I, for one, am overjoyed to read attorney/ writer Bill Singer state this;
We needed an intense federal investigation;
instead, we got political circus. Like what else is new?
BAM BOOM BLAM - that is it in a nutshell. What the moral of this story appears to be, that if you want to be a thief, be a white collar one. Steal big and be willing to share the wealth with politicos and hire prosecutors away from their due diligence to your law firms (are you listening Debra Yang)? That is how the world goes round.
Now before you go saying this or that about Mr. Bill Singer, especially you naysay legal professionals out there - you should pay attention to his resume. This man has credentials extra-ordinary. Here's his resume upon his very own Blog/ Website "Broker and Broker". It denotes the fact that Bill Singer was a legal eagle in the Wall Street realm for decades. From the New York School of Law he then worked at Smith Barney, followed by a good term at the American Stock Exchange, then as Regional Attorney for the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and, with returns to NASD isues he is also a Published Columnist, Arbitration professional and communicates with House and Senate Committees.
All those accomplishments makes his remarks much more stinging in their merits. I also adore the way that Mr. Singer pulls no punches. In his above mentioned story he references a former article titled "Sec v. Goldman Sachs" denoting the following hard punch while hereflects that there may be No Slam Dunk Case against Goldman Sachs - stating;
As such, the SEC does not have a slam dunk case. Further, given Goldman's deep pockets, one should expect a robust defense.
I still wonder if SEC v. Goldman Sachs is just so much political theater. In Act I, the SEC and Congress throw the rabble just a small slice of bloody, red meat. In Act II there is a multi-million dollar settlement, a cloud of harmless dust, and, after a few calendar pages are pulled off the pad, things pretty much get back to usual -- with some juicy campaign contributions down the road.
Forgive an old Wall Street veteran's cynicism. After some three decades of sitting through these staged dramas, I've become a bit jaded. Like I said at the beginning, is this about regime change or crowd control?
Conclusion - Goldman Sachs "was" Above the Law
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We have to applaud the efforts of Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Harry Reid and this one big punch by Senator Carl Levin. The secret to the "above the law" state of Goldman Sachs and their cohort Bain Capital - lies within apathy, willful blindness and silence. This is because their bad faith acts can Not bare up to "honorable" public scrutiny.
Unfortunately, the formula for success of white collar criminal exploits is steal, do it in a big way, complicate it in any way possible and do it for a long period of time. Then - IF - any federal investigation comes, by that time you should have some former DOJ & SEC attorneys on your payroll. Of course it doesn't hurt when the CEO of Goldman Sachs (like Mr. Paulson) wind up working for one of the highest positions in the federal government. Thus, any indictment of Paulson, would also appear to be an indictment of our federal authorities.
Again, I have to say KUDOs much to Bill Singer and Senator Carl Levin. If we can get you guys together with Senator Reid, Senator Sanders; as well as with Barney Frank and (hopefully) Senator Elizabeth Warren. There may be a chance that change may come.
Plus, there's a rumor out here - that Goldman Sachs & its CEO's may be sued. Including the naming of both the former CEO (Paulson) and its current CEO (Blankfein) in a case that may be a slam dunk. As noted upon Wikipedia, Goldman Sachs CEO Llyod Blankfein found it necessary to hire a criminal defense attorney when he was accused by the Senator of not being truthful during a Senate hearing. If this rumor comes true - it may be good that Blankfein has a high priced defense attorney on speed dial.
I'm just sayin........