The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #141413   Message #3270087
Posted By: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
07-Dec-11 - 05:31 PM
Thread Name: BS: Occupy Wall Street; The 99%
Subject: RE: BS: Occupy Wall Street; The 99%
Actually, it makes more sense to prosecute those responsible for the collapse!

and while they're (not) at it:

From ABC NEWS:

Former New Jersey governor and U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine, whom President Obama once hailed as an "honorable man" and one of his "best partners" in the White House, has been subpoenaed to testify before Congress about his role in the collapse of the investment firm MF Global.

Corzine was chairman and CEO of the company between March 2010 and Oct. 31, 2011, when it filed for bankruptcy. An estimated $1.2 billion has not been accounted for, leaving many investor accounts drained. The FBI and Justice Department are also investigating the case.

The unanimous, bipartisan vote today to require Corzine to appear before the House Agriculture Committee next week sets the stage for tough questioning of one of the president's top re-election campaign fundraisers and a man who had, until recently, been considered a top pick for Treasury Secretary in a possible second Obama term.

Corzine hosted a private fundraiser for Obama at his Manhattan home in April and has given the maximum individual contribution — $35,800 — to Obama and Democrats for 2012, according to Federal Election Commission records. He and his family have donated more than $933,000 to Democratic candidates and groups since 1990, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The former CEO of Goldman Sachs has also bundled more than $500,000 in contributions for Obama 2012 from his deep-pocket friends and associates, many of whom have ties to Wall Street.

Corzine's scheduled appearance before the House panel on Dec. 8 comes with potential pitfalls. If he openly answers lawmakers' questions, he risks giving information that criminal and civil investigators could use against him. On the other hand, if he invokes his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, he could appear culpable to some degree.

While Corzine has not yet been charged with a crime, his ties to the failed firm have drawn criticism from Republicans and spurred demands on Obama to return Corzine's campaign cash.

"In light of the FBI investigation into Jon Corzine's company, President Obama should immediately return the $500,000 that Corzine raised on his behalf," Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement last month.

An Obama campaign official said they would return funds associated with Corzine if he is charged with any wrongdoing in criminal or civil court.

ABC News' Jason Ryan and Susanna Kim contributed to this report.

AND THIS:

MF Global Holdings Ltd. (MF) took the cult of the Wall Street chief executive officer to a new level with its sale of bonds that pay a higher rate if Chairman and CEO Jon Corzine quits to take a job from the U.S. president.

The futures broker sold $325 million of five-year unsecured notes, the company said today in a statement. The notes will pay an extra percentage point of interest if Corzine is named to a federal post and confirmed by the Senate before July 2013, New York-based MF Global said yesterday in a regulatory filing.

"That seems crazy," said William Larkin, a fixed-income portfolio manager who oversees $500 million at Cabot Money Management Inc. in Salem, Massachusetts, and has 22 years of experience. "I've never heard of something like this."

Corzine, the 64-year-old former governor of New Jersey, helped run Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) from 1994 to 1999 and served in the Senate from 2001 to 2006. Since joining MF Global last year, he's taken more risk with the firm's money in a bid to remake the broker into a mid-size investment bank and has sought to alter its capital structure to reduce borrowing costs. The shares rose 9.5 percent in the past year under his watch, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Financials Index fell 4.9 percent.

A Democrat, Corzine is among the biggest fundraisers for President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. He has been the subject of speculation about administration jobs such as Treasury secretary or White House economic adviser, said Christopher Allen, an analyst at Evercore Partners Inc. in New York.
Retention Bonus

Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said he had "no knowledge" that Corzine was being considered for an administration post. He declined to comment on the bond sale.


AND THIS!:

October 3, 2011 5:59 PM

ATF Fast and Furious: New documents show Attorney General Eric Holder was briefed in July 2010

WASHINGTON - New documents obtained by CBS News show Attorney General Eric Holder was sent briefings on the controversial Fast and Furious operation as far back as July 2010. That directly contradicts his statement to Congress.

On May 3, 2011, Holder told a Judiciary Committee hearing, "I'm not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks."

Yet internal Justice Department documents show that at least ten months before that hearing, Holder began receiving frequent memos discussing Fast and Furious.

AND THIS: ...Wait, I got more, but BOBERT claims 'reading fatigue'

So, SPIN THOSE!!!

GfS

P.S. Maybe time for me to yawn....while waiting!