Via The Other 98
We want a real Wall Street investigation before time runs out, or none at all. No fig-leafs, no tokens – it’s time to indict the biggest banks for historic fraud before statues of limitations run out, or tell the world why not.
For the last 5 years, everyone in America has been asking the same question: “When are the Wall Street bankers responsible for crashing the global economy going to be prosecuted?” There have been zero indictments, and now the statute of limitations is running out. We want to know why AG Eric Schneiderman, the latest lawyer assigned to investigate the financial crisis, has yet to produce any indictments of major Wall Street fraud – even though the clock to prosecute megabank crimes is running out.
When Eric Schneiderman, Attorney General of New York, was appointed to lead the investigation into large-scale Wall Street fraud, America got its hopes up. Finally, here was a crusading progressive with a record of taking Wall Street crime seriously and making the right enemies who would, after 5 years of zero indictments, finally deliver results. He even promised when he was appointed in January that we wouldn’t have to wait six months to start seeing results. It’s now *eight* months later, and there has barely been a peep from Schneiderman or his Financial Crisis Task Force.1
But it gets worse. Much of the financial fraud that led to the Great Crash happened in 2007 – and has a five-year statute of limitations to bring forward indictments.2 Which means Schneiderman either needs to start bringing forth indictments *now* to have any hope of getting the American people justice – or watch as the worst criminals on Wall Street go unpunished, letting the next crisis happen without any disincentive to change their ways.3
Meanwhile, the Task Force has been pursuing indictments for all manner of low-level financial crime – be it individual traders who played with LIBOR, or aftermath from the Madoff case – but virtually nothing having to do with the worst global financial crisis in modern memory.4 This has to change. No token indictments, no distractions: we need indictments on the worst offenders right now.
There are other ways for Schneiderman to proceed with the investigation – but they either involve the banks agreeing to delay the investigation through a “tolling agreement” (fat chance), or proceeding with what’s called a FIRREA investigation, which takes criminal charges off the table. Neither of these is acceptable – there can’t be one set of laws for the financial elites and another for everyone else.
AG Schneiderman: You’re one of the few public officials who has talked the talk on holding Wall Street accountable. Now it’s time to walk the walk. Indict Wall Street – or step down in public protest.
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/25/eric-schneiderman-mortgage-task-force_n_1545693.html
2. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/business-economy-financial-crisis/money-power-wall-street/deadlines-loom-to-bring-financial-crisis-cases/
3.http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/07/13/rep-miller-agency-officials-acknowledge-that-securitization-task-force-a-potemkin-village/
4. http://my.firedoglake.com/masaccio/2012/07/06/financial-fraud-enforcement-task-force-fakery/
SIGN THE PETITION AMERICA!!
THE BANKS CAN’T PROVE OWNERSHIP STOP THESE COURTS NOW. THESE JUDGES LOVE TO HELP THESE LITTLE CRY BABY BANKS THAT WERE PAID SEVERAL TIMES FOR 99% OF ALL THE MORTGAGES IN THE UNITED STATES. STOP THESE JUDGES NOW
The Obama Administration has been very effective in squashing investigations and foaming homeowners – soley to assist TBTF during their period of recovery. The Administration is filled with Bank friendly stooges, Schneiderman will announce some stunt and quietly get out of the way before election.
Schneiderman has already sold out. But it helps Obama’s re-election chances if Obama himself isn’t blamed for failing to “indict Wall Street”. “We’re F#$ked” – Neil Barofsky
. “We’re F#$ked” – Neil Barofsky But sign the petition anyway.