NBC News is reporting Donald Trump has named Goldman Sachs COO & President Gary Cohn to be National Economic Council Director. So much for draining the swamp! Donald Trump is heavily stocking the swamp with financial alligators. Despite constantly criticizing Goldman Sachs on the campaign trail, specifically calling them out by name, Donald Trump is now filling his administration with Goldman Sachs employees, many of them heavily involved in the shady mortgage con that brought us the financial crash of 2008. It was only a few years ago Gary Cohn was testifying about Goldman's role in the 2008 financial crisis:
Now it is Gary D. Cohn 's turn. Goldman's No. 2 executive, a longtime confidant of Mr. Blankfein, is testifying Wednesday before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. The congressional panel wants to know more about how derivatives fueled the crisis, including the near-collapse of insurer American International Group Inc.
It is unusual for the 49-year-old Mr. Cohn to serve as Goldman's public face in such a potentially explosive setting. Since the Securities and Exchange Commission sued the New York company for fraud in April, his damage-control efforts have occurred largely behind the scenes, including meetings with dozens of the firm's clients. Despite being a driving force behind the Goldman mortgage department under assault by the SEC and lawmakers and a larger-than-life figure inside Goldman, Mr. Cohn was barely mentioned during the 11-hour pummeling Mr. Blankfein and other current and former executives got at a Senate hearing shortly after the suit was filed.
Emphasis added. Did you get that? The Wall Street Journal described Cohn as the “driving force behind the Goldman mortgage department.” The same scammy department that drove the economic collapse in 2008. Goldman Sachs eventually paid a $5 billion settlement:
The Justice Department, along with federal and state partners, announced today a $5.06 billion settlement with Goldman Sachs related to Goldman’s conduct in the packaging, securitization, marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) between 2005 and 2007. The resolution announced today requires Goldman to pay $2.385 billion in a civil penalty under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) and also requires the bank to provide $1.8 billion in other relief, including relief to underwater homeowners, distressed borrowers and affected communities, in the form of loan forgiveness and financing for affordable housing. Goldman will also pay $875 million to resolve claims by other federal entities and state claims. Investors, including federally-insured financial institutions, suffered billions of dollars in losses from investing in RMBS issued and underwritten by Goldman between 2005 and 2007.
“This resolution holds Goldman Sachs accountable for its serious misconduct in falsely assuring investors that securities it sold were backed by sound mortgages, when it knew that they were full of mortgages that were likely to fail,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery. “This $5 billion settlement includes a $1.8 billion commitment to help repair the damage to homeowners and communities that Goldman acknowledges resulted from its conduct, and it makes clear that no institution may inflict this type of harm on investors and the American public without serious consequences.”
Cohn leaves behind his $22 million per year gig at Goldman to join several of his old buddies in the Trump administration:
If Cohn were to accept an invitation he would join not only former bankers Ross and Mnuchin but White House strategist Stephen Bannon — tapped earlier this month by Trump to be his chief White House strategist — who, in addition to having run alt-right news site Breitbart, was also an investment banker at Goldman for years.
The role of National Economic Council Director is an important one.
The NEC is comprised of numerous department and agency heads within the administration, whose policy jurisdictions impact the nation's economy. The NEC Director works in conjunction with these officials to coordinate and implement the President's economic policy objectives. The Director is supported by a staff of policy specialists in various fields including: agriculture, commerce, energy, financial markets, fiscal policy, healthcare, labor, and Social Security.
Donald Trump is turning over the keys to the castle to the very people who caused the devastating financial crash in 2008.