Robert Scheer: California Refuses to Accept Obama’s Banking Sellout

[marmar]

from truthdig:



California Refuses to Accept Obama’s Banking Sellout

Posted on Nov 10, 2011
By Robert Scheer


There is no three-strikes law for crooked bankers, not even a law for a fifth strike, as The New York Times reported in the case of Citigroup, cited last month in a $1 billion fraud case. Unlike the California third-striker I once wrote about whom a district attorney wanted banished forever to state prison for stealing a piece of pizza from the plate of a person dining outdoors, Citigroup executives get off with a fine and by offering a promise not to do it again, and again and again.

As the Times reported when Citigroup agreed to settle SEC charges last month: “Citigroup’s main brokerage subsidiary, its predecessors or its parent company agreed to not violate the very same antifraud statue in July 2010. And in May 2006. Also as far back as March 2005 and April 2000.”

Not that the bankers face prison time, since the Justice Department has refused to act in these cases, and the Securities and Exchange Commission is bringing only civil charges, which the banks find quite tolerable. This time, the fine against Citigroup was $285 million, which may sound like a lot except that the bank raked off as much as $700 million on this particular toxic securities deal. As the Bloomberg news service editorialized, “... there should be only one answer from Jed S. Rakoff, the federal judge in New York assigned to weigh the merits of the agreement: You’ve got to be kidding.”

......(snip)......

The fix was in for what a New York Times editorial on Tuesday headlined “Letting the Banks Off Easy” described as “paltry” mortgage relief, reducing by less than $20 billion the balances of 14.5 million underwater homeowners who are “drowning in some $700 billion of negative equity.” The deal has been stalled by the refusal of California Attorney General Kamala Harris to accept this sellout. Among its other disastrous concessions would be ending further investigation by the states into financial skullduggery connected with the housing meltdown. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/california_refuses_to_accept_obamas_banking_sellout_20111110/

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[izquierdista]

2. More weak sauce, please

It appears after last night's clown show, the 2012 election will boil down to a choice between more weak sauce and the crazies. I think the crazies have frightened enough people that the one item on the menu for the foreseeable future will be weak sauce -- maybe some watered down weak sauce.

[PoliticAverse]

3. See you need to steal enough to afford good lawyers and campaign contributions if you

want to get away with it.

[banned from Kos]

4. good for California - let them go to court and get their asses kicked by better lawyers

and if the GOP wins in 2012 they will never collect a fucking dime.

[Bluenorthwest]

7. So your argument is they should accept corruption out of fear of

still greater corruption gaining control? That does not even make sense. State officials have a sworn duty, and that duty is not sworn to Barack Obama. CA is doing the right thing.

[banned from Kos]

8. No, I am not saying that. The state AG's may pursue 20-30 different prosecutions

in different states if they wish. They will mostly prove very little in actual damages.

I want to see the most money extracted from the banks - the $25 billion is the way to do that. Look at it this way - what have they gotten so far? Not very much. Why doesn't NY or CA run out in front of this? They are beholden to no agreement.

[whathehell]

5. Good for Judge Kamala Harris.

She, at least, appears to have "balls".:eyes:

[meow2u3]

6. Good for you, California

First New York, then Delaware, now California won't go along with the sellout offer from the bank-owned Federal government. Prosecute those bastards to the fullest extent of the law and hit them where it hurts the most: right in their wallets!

Treat crime in the suites like crime in the streets.