AIG TRIAL:Paulson, Geithner ADMIT to Lying to Congress about Bailout

[marym625]

Another thing not reported by MSM. Why should they? Not in their best interest that we see AIG admitting to lying about the bailout.

Lee Camp tells what's happening in the AIG trial:

Paulson, Geithner ADMIT to Lying to Congress about the Bailout

:

[sybylla]

1. Raise your hand if you're surprised.

So many of us knew it was a problem to have the fox watching the henhouse.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. +1

[marym625]

9. Isn't it funny

how we knew the bailout was bullshit, there were no weapons of mass destruction and there wouldn't be a public option, but the government didn't know?

So tired of the bullshit.

[mindwalker_i]

15. I think the government knew

They had completely different reasons for, at least, the Iraq war. So if the WMD stuff was untrue (pretty much guaranteed), who the fuck cared? Well actually, we did, but that's our problem.

[marym625]

19. Yep

we would all be better off if we just didn't give a shit. Unfortunately.

[pangaia]

2. I sure hope these guys were not granted immunity.

Wishful thinking, probably.

[Youdontwantthetruth]

5. Like they would would be proscuted for lying to Congress, if they lied about a BJ then yes

otherwise they are fully protected and nobody will do nothing at all.

[marym625]

10. Congress KNEW they were lying

absolutely no doubt in my mind.

[Youdontwantthetruth]

11. Of Course they did, there are no surprises in Congress besides

why would they, Congress Critters, jeopardize employment with their future bosses and or the companies they work for?

[marym625]

12. Just like they knew about the Iraq War

and everything else.

It took years for me to give up my naivete about that. Just couldn't admit to myself that the shadow government controlled everything. Now, I have had to admit it to myself. Just sad.

[Youdontwantthetruth]

13. I like the red pill over the blue; one see much more clearly on the red pill

[marym625]

14. But, but, but

then everything is the COMMIES!!!

Good one! Thanks

[truedelphi]

24. People are very sick of the "Vote for the lesser of the Two Evils"

The idea that the Democratic Party has to offer the lower middle class a few tidbits of lettuce on a salad of shit is no longer getting really far here in my rural county.

I have no idea what the effect will be. People, at least according to what I am hearing, will be sitting this election out, unless they have a personal interest in one or another of the initiatives on the ballot.

Whether people sitting the election out will hurt the Democrts or the Republicans I don't know. But by next Wednesday I will.

[marym625]

27. sad that this is the norm.

The lesser of two evils.

[KoKo]

18. Back in 2009....Financial Writers were all over it....

Report: Paulson Lied to Congress & Public

by Barry Ritholtz - October 5th, 2009, 10:15am
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/10/report-paulson-lied-to-congress-public/

At various points in the financial crisis, former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. publicly discussed the health of the banking sector.

As it turns out, many of the things he said were false. The ad hoc way that monies were doled out also comes under fire.

These were not forecasts about the future that went awry, but rather, misstatements of facts regarding the solvency and capitalization of individual banks

(NYT):

“The inspector general who oversees the government’s bailout of the banking system is criticizing the Treasury Department for some misleading public statements last fall and raising the possibility that it had unfairly disbursed money to the biggest banks.

A Treasury official made incorrect statements about the health of the nation’s biggest banks even as the government was doling out billions of dollars in aid, according to a report on the Troubled Asset Relief Program to be released on Monday by the special inspector general, Neil M. Barofksy. . .

Mr. Barofsky’s office also says that regulators were wrong to tell the public last year that the earliest bailout recipients were all healthy.”

CNN/Money adds:

Bailout special inspector general Neil Barofsky says in an audit that Treasury Department officials painted an overly rosy picture, creating “unrealistic expectations,” when they called the first bailout banks “healthy” institutions that would be able to lend more with government help.

We will see if this political storm blows over, or if this is a scandal that has legs . . .

Source:
Report on Bailouts Says Treasury Misled Public
LOUISE STORY
NYT, October 5, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/business/economy/05bank.html

Bailout cop: Treasury set ‘unrealistic expectations
Jennifer Liberto,
CNN/Money, October 5, 2009: 6:55 AM ET

http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/05/news/economy/bailout_report/index.htm

[marym625]

25. I remembered they were

But not the specifics.

Thanks for the information

[citizen blues]

3. Not surprised at all.

Step one: Reinstate Glass-Steagull and break up the "too big to fail" banks.

Step two: Indict, perp walk, convict, and jail Geitner and Paulson.



Yes, I know. Completely wishful thinking. Never happen. Foxes in charge of the hen house indeed!

[dhill926]

6. Yep...I'd be happy with Step 1…

Step 2, too big to jail.

[dotymed]

7. I wish there were more facts and less satire in this clip.

Sadly, (like in the movie "V" for Vendetta&quot most of our actual, honest "reporting" on political crimes, is relegated to "comedy shows" like Jon Stewart. The MSM will not report the truth.
To me, this clip made way too light of the situation (what can we expect when comedy shows are the only place to find any truth?)
I would like to hear or read a more straight forward report on the AIG trial. Does anyone have any links?

[marym625]

8. Greg Palast

Will be following up I am sure.

He's been working on voter suppression so hasn't had the time yet. Has investigative report on Al Jazeera America tonight at 9:00pm EDT.

[dotymed]

16. Thanks mary

Greg is A REPORTER. I
TOO AM PRETTY SURE THAT HE WILL GET TO THIS VERY IMPORTANT SUBJECT. i WILL BE CHECKING.

[marym625]

20. I will probably post something when he does. n/t

[dotymed]

31. great.

especially for this sufferer of CRS (can't remember shit), lol

[marym625]

32. I shared this on another thread

I think it was one of the threads that disappeared. No one commented anyway. So, I am sharing again because I love it so much

[indepat]

17. Who would have ever thunk either of those two would ever lie to the Congress? Mercy sakes,

what's next?

[marym625]

21. and to think they'll probably win

what a clusterfuck

[truedelphi]

22. Of course, similar discussions about Geithner/Paulson/Bernanke and their lies

Have appeared many times on DU.

H.R.3808 - Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2009



Marmar's topic
http://election.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x391900
The above is well worth reading (or re-reading)


My response

One more thing to consider: both Kucinich and Issa, who co-chaired the
House Committee on Oversight of Financial Affairs, knew and stated repeatedly that the very best way to solve the Economic Crisis of Autumn 2008 was to simply re-institute the laws, (still on the books !!) that got the nation through the Savings and Loan collapse of the late 1980's.

During that crisis, the Federal government simply offered up enough monies to re-start the economy, through a system of state chartered banks, which were required to loan that money back out to the businesses on Main Street.

Not only did this system help the nation recover, but it allowed Main Street to be restored. Why is this important? For one thing, traditionally, it is through Main Street enterprises that some 60 to 65% of all America's working people are employed, often at salaries that are quite desirable.

Instead, Paulson, who headed up the US Treasury at the time, simply insisted that the Too Big To Fail crowd must, at all costs, be bailed out. Not only did the Federal Government hand out vast sums of money (far beyond the 700 Billions of dollars that the public was led to believe was offered) to the troubled Big Financial firms, but Tim Geithner, then the head of the New York Federal Reserve, was allowed to maneuver which firms got what, and who didn't get squat. (Lehman and Brothers being the chosen first scapegoat allowed to go under.) It is interesting to note that during the autumn of 2008, all three super contenders for the office of the US Presidency, H. Clinton, B. Obama and J. McCain were totally for the idea of the Big Bailouts.

Added material today - Geithner also lied to Congress in 2009, stating on at least one occasion that there was no way to handle this crisis other than doing the Bailout! For an official of any Administration to come to Congress and lie through their teeth - that is perjury, and should have resulted in Geithner's impeachment from his spot as Secretary of the US Treasury.

It is also interesting and CRIMINAL that there was no single provision requiring anyone receiving any of the Bailout Monies forcing these Big Financial firms to loan the money out to those of us on Main Street. Nor did more than a handful of the criminals in the Wall Street crowd ever face any jail time, and those people were usually not the executives at the top, but scapegoats. (During the S & L scandal, over 10,000 people ended up being indicted. With many serving jail time.)

[marym625]

28. Thanks for that.

When the lead person in ruining the economy, Larry Summers, is later nominated to head the Fed, you know that no one will be punished.

The End Game Memo should have had everyone on it locked up. Instead, less than nothing. Rewards.

[KoKo]

30. +1...!

[truedelphi]

23. BTW, Neel Kashkari, Paulson's number one "go to" guy, is now running for California Governor's

Spot.

He is the man who spent quite a bit of time in the hot seat, with Dennis Kucinich, Darryl Issa and Cummins and Waters grilling him. At the end of his testimony, Kucinich said, "Well Mr Kashakari, you have convinced us that you and your people at the Fed Reserve have been working very hard. But I think we also all know who it is you are working for. And it isn't the American people."

[marym625]

29. Love Kuncinich

Thanks for the reminder

[Jim Lane]

26. I don't see where Paulson and Geithner have ADMITTED to anything

According to the clip, the AIG honcho alleges that what those guys told Congress was false. His allegation is part of his theory for shaking down the taxpayers for several billion more than what he already got. In short, each side has a motive to lie -- and the whole deal was complex enough that it's possible everyone is lying.

Even if you conclude that Paulson and Geithner were (among the) liars, though, it's another step to say they've admitted that. If they're called to testify at this trial, wouldn't they stick to the stories they told in 2008?