More than three years after the one of the worst financial crises in U.S. history, the government has been severely criticized for its failure to criminally prosecute senior executives at the Wall Street banks that helped cause the meltdown. Have the feds been soft on banking execs? Are laws on the books inadequate for holding people criminally accountable? Has the Department of Justice been too timid or too intimidated by the complexity of the potential misconduct? Or is it the case that actions of the individuals who caused the crisis were potentially reckless and immoral, but not unlawful? Does the lack of prosecutions reflect a weakness in our system of justice? Or does it demonstrate the strength of a system that has resisted the political pressure to scapegoat executives who may have committed no crimes?
A panel of senior criminal justice officials, including a former New York State Attorney General, a former United States Attorney, and the current head of the Department of Justice’s criminal division, takes on these questions and more.
Panelists:
Lanny Breuer, Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
Eliot Spitzer, Former Governor and Attorney General for the State of New York
Mary Jo White, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
Moderator:
Neil Barofsky, Senior Fellow, Center on the Administration of Criminal Law; Adjunct Professor, NYU School of Law
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I recently emailed one of my US Senators about backing the law that would regulate the banks an mortgage companies. He did not think that was a good idea. I think the Dodd -Frank is a place to start.. The law gave the discretion to the executive branch to write hundres of new regulations that govern financial services it restricts the mortgage industry . This misguided financial reform legislation will permantely alter the landscape of our regulatory structure. -that is why I thought it was a good idea- the lenders and the banks need to be regulated.
they need to have their landscape completely and permanently altered.
I am still trying to figure out who i am going to vote for maybe it will be Rick S.
This was PAINFULL …. I watched and watched and hoped and hoped then they gave the mic to the first individual in the audience and I thought, great now we will get to the core of it and it went over like a bag full of crap calling it low hanging fruit.
Well what all of this told me was, every homeowner is call low hanging fruit and that is not what this panel is concerned with. I just wonder how many homeowner were foreclosed on during the time I watched this? If knowing fraud has occurred. which we all know has, especially Robo Signing. Notes Turning into Securities (which is not a crime in itself) (but double dipping is), then all foreclosures should have been halted immediately until this was solved.
But no. this panel wants to dissect complicated to the extreame leagalized language, proceedures, terms and policies before making a case. At the same time millions are being foreclosed on, have been foreclosed on and yet the Robo Signing, Misrepresentations, and the rest of the Illegal practices are going on.
Bottom Line is …. These High Level People on this Panel live in nice big warm homes and to listen to them that even though they are proceeding in this matter they sit around and have nice dinners and drinks while home owners are being illegally being foreclosed on. The urgency is just not there.
So here I sit, dealing with Robo Signed Documents in my Recorders Office and Bank of America not being able to foreclose on me in 3 years decided to pass on the Servicing Rights to some Bottom Feeder in Colorado to aggressively try and foreclose on me. To me, it is like starting all over again and having to deal with a whole new set of idiots. oh well … I won’t pay them either.
This was so depressing!!!!!!
Has Bill Black been invited anywhere?
Thanks for this tape. It’s TOtally definitive of the “capture” of the legal elites.
In response to Stiglitz, thanks for putting it right out front re: fraud/crimes have been committed and ignored by the cops, the response: “low hanging fruit” not to be dignified with the term criminal, but later acknowledging tat if criminal activity is discovered in the lower echelons, the whole enterprise is guilty. In time. In time. You’ll see answers Breuer.
Those of us in foreclosure are under the oppressive weight of that low lying fruit. If you could just pick some of ’em off me, I’d be ever so grateful! Why do that? Because YOU have the power, and THEY committed crimes. YOU admit so. AND: It’s YOUR JOB!! In time, most of us won’t be here. We’ll have been consumed by them on YOUR watch.
The short answer to committed crimes? Yes. They are crimes. No. We ain’t goin’ after it.
Wait! I’m confused. So if the banks signed the settlement with the AG’s- are they not admitting that they committed Fraud?
http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/177_29/mortgage-servicers-settlement-1046574-1.html
Q…Why wasn’t Wm Black invited to participate in this panel?
A….He would have chewed Lanny’s BS up and spit it right back in his face.
I’m surprised Barofsky let Lanny blather away like that. I thought he was one of the good guys.
OMG…!!!! I DONT HAVE TIME TO WATCH THIS RIGHT NOW BUT…SAY IT AINT SO…! NOT ELIOT SPITZER TOO! I HAVE TO TYPE AND FILE MY KICK ASS…. ANSWER TO THE CRIMINAL IMPOSTERS STRIKE….ILL BE BACK LATER TO WATCH THIS…!! WE MUST KEEP INFORMED!! THAT IS HOW ALL TRAITORS TO AMERICA WILL BE REVEALED! DIRTY GREEDY CRIMINAL BASTARDS…!!! .I HOPE THEY ALL KILL THEMSELVES AND KILL EACH OTHER..THAT WILL SAVE ALL OF US THE TROUBLE…!
Poor Lanny and the “Dept of Justice” just can’t seem to find the materiality to prosecute. Could any one loan this bureaucratic misfit a flashlight as his head is so far up his ass he can’t find it.!