Rule by Banksters OR Rule of Law

MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011

Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Makes Criminal Prosecution Referrals (Naked Capitalism)

Given that the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission has found what it sees as ground for criminal prosecution, apparently extending to several yet to be named Wall Street executives, what are we to make of the exodus of its Republican members? That they prefer rule by banksters to rule of law?

I must confess I had little hope for the FCIC having any impact. The unduly short time allotted to it, its composition (not enough representation of individuals at the commissioner level with meaningful expertise) and its restrictions on issuing subpoenas (which effectively required sign off from members of both parties) seemed intended to hamstring it. The fact that they’ve gotten this far, and may make more waves with the issuance of their report, which is due out later this week, is an unexpected positive development.

Shahien Narsiripour of the Huffington Post broke this story but juicy details appear thin at this juncture:

The bipartisan panel appointed by Congress to investigate the financial crisis has concluded that several financial industry figures appear to have broken the law and has referred multiple cases to state or federal authorities for potential prosecution….

The sources, who spoke on condition they not be named, declined to identify the people implicated or the names of their institutions. But they characterized the panel’s decision to make referrals to prosecutors as a significant escalation in the government’s response to the financial crisis…The commission’s decision to refer conduct for prosecution underscores the severity of the activities it has uncovered and plans to detail in its widely anticipated final report

The report will include an audio archive of 600 people they interviewed and will be accessible to the public. I was interviewed by three staffers (all pretty senior) and at least two of them had read ECONNED.

More on this topic (What's this?)

Ready for Some Crowding Out? (Financial Armageddon, 12/3/10)

S&P 400 MARKS AN ALL-TIME HIGH (THE PRAGMATIC CAPITALIST, 1/21/11)

Big Difference (Financial Armageddon, 11/8/10)

Read more on 2008 Financial Crisis at Wikinvest