Wall Street banks and the SEC officials pretending to regulate them may as well have had the colostomy bags ripped off them, shoved in their faces and told, “explain this!” — airport style. That’s the thought
SEC should be examined thoroughly
The SEC, it seems, has been destroying the documents of a case anytime the matter or complaint does not become a full investigation. Called out on it, now they are trying to deny and cover up that they’ve been doing it.
Taibbi’s revelations are amazing since much of them relate to whistleblower Darcy Flynn, who still cannot speak to the press. Flynn is an SEC attorney who was appointed to oversee documents which, he discovered, are regularly destroyed at the SEC as soon as the case relating to them isn’t upgraded to a full investigation. The destruction of such preliminary documents happens to be illegal, but it had become standard procedure. Senator Charles Grassley is currently trying to get answers about it from them.
Preliminary investigations over the last few years, include such familiars as: Goldman Sachs, Bernie Madoff, JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers, AIG, Deutsche Bank. Most of whom received government bailout funds.
And just why did those in particular not get investigated, when as we know, criminal activity was definitely taking place then, and resulted in the “cratering” (Taibbi’s favorite verb) of the economy just a little later? That of course can be answered with a picture of a revolving door, with SEC top people leaving and going straight to their new, very-well-paying jobs at JPMorgan or another bank, while the just-resigned head of said bank goes to his new job at the SEC. A few years later they or other individuals at same banks trade places. The relationship between the SEC and the Big Banks is that of friends, mentors, and future employers.
It’s not just the evils of who in particular got elected last. It’s a deeply-rooted weed in our government which has been growing for almost 2 decades, the era of the too-big-to-fail Big Banks.