Here is the weird thing in this Untied States of America. Baseball players
like the great Pete Rose is denied the Hall of Fame and lots of money
because he gambled, and he didn't even bet against his own team and didn't
"throw" any games. Yet Goldman Sachs bet against the entire economy with big
inside shorts and was and is continually rewarded with more, more and ever
more.
My faith in the American people is shook by their gullibility and stupidity
in these regards, as is my faith in democracy for sure.
Ben Franklin said after the passage of the U.S. Constitution to a lady, "We
gave you a Republic if you can keep it."
Those were simple times relatively.
Regardless we now have a formal kleptocracy and Trump was correct on one
thing. The system is indeed rigged.
I guess it is time to build new pyramids to honor the sun gods of today so
that in a few thousand years some might be able to see our follies in gilded
splendor.
Then again I doubt Trump can muster the forces to even engage in a vanity
fair of such proportions for he isn't even a competent Pharo. He is a clown
prince.Oh and while Washington burns and while the seeds of lament are sown
people worry about the fait of Pete Rose. It is because the truth is so
utterly ugly we must divert our attentions, or have them diverted by the
likes of hucksters like "The Donald". Oh well he'll make the Obama years
look great, and we'll even laud the GW Bush years or even Nixon as great
relatively. And relatively they will be so.
And so it goes....
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2017 10:21 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Trump Nominee Jay Clayton Will Be the Most
Conflicted SEC Chair Ever
Taibbi writes: "When Donald Trump picked hotshot Wall Street defense lawyer
Jay Clayton to head the SEC Wednesday, there was a predictable outcry from
certain quarters. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who sits on the banking
committee, had one of the most circulated quotes."
Jay Clayton. (photo: USA TODAY)
Trump Nominee Jay Clayton Will Be the Most Conflicted SEC Chair Ever
By Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone
07 January 17
When Donald Trump picked hotshot Wall Street defense lawyer Jay Clayton to
head the SEC Wednesday, there was a predictable outcry from certain
quarters. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who sits on the banking committee, had
one of the most circulated quotes:
"It's hard to see," Brown said, "how an attorney who's spent his career
helping Wall Street beat the rap will keep President-elect Trump's promise
to stop big banks and hedge funds from 'getting away with murder.'"
Most of the consternation over Clayton's appointment has to do with his own
background as a longtime defender of big banks. He's been involved in some
infamously shadowy episodes in the post-crisis era, with two in particular
standing out.
He represented Goldman Sachs when the firm received a $5 billion capital
infusion from Warren Buffet during the September 2008 meltdown. He also
represented Barclays during its malodorous acquisition of the assets of
Lehman Brothers, an episode one lawyer described to me years ago as "the
greatest bank robbery you never heard of." (There is a chapter about this
story in my last book, The Divide.)
That Clayton has been a devoted legal slave to the usual Wall Street
monsters over the years is obviously concerning, though not terribly
unusual.
What makes this situation somewhat unique is the fact that this incoming SEC
chief is also married to a broker at Goldman Sachs - his wife Gretchen is a
wealth management advisor. This means that a significant portion of
Clayton's family income while in office will presumably be coming from a
company he is charged with policing.
This is both far less common and a much bigger problem than you'd think. As
one former congressional aide put it to me today, "Clayton will be the most
financially conflicted SEC chairman in history."
Remember, at the Republican convention last year, Trump supporters heckled
Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi, for being a Goldman Sachs employee.
Where are all those furious Trump supporters now that their idol has put the
husband of a Goldman broker in charge of the SEC? Pretty quiet. You can hear
the crickets chirping all across America today.
How much of an ethical problem Clayton's marriage is can be seen in a
bizarre contradiction in the rules. As SEC chairman, Clayton going forward
will have to recuse himself from any enforcement decision involving Goldman.
This is no small thing, since Goldman has not exactly been a stranger to SEC
enforcement decisions over the years.
Yet even as he has to sit out Goldman's inevitable enforcement problems
because of his wife, Clayton will not have to recuse himself from rulemaking
decisions that could affect Goldman far more than isolated corruption cases.
Ethics rules say officials like Clayton do not have to recuse themselves
from matters of "general application," meaning in this case that Clayton may
rule on matters concerning Goldman, provided they also impact other banks.
But these decisions about things like the Volcker rule or fixed-income
transparency or swaps could have a profound impact on Goldman's bottom line,
with hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars at stake.
Who knows how much this will or even could affect his wife's personal
compensation. Industry lawyers I spoke with today seemed split on how big a
deal it is. But all agreed that it's not a good look for Clayton.
"I get the feeling that this Trump crew doesn't particularly care how bad
things look, though," said one.
Obviously there have been many previous instances of familial conflicts
involving government officials. Even the outgoing SEC chief, Mary Jo White,
was criticized for conflicts involving her husband, John White, a partner at
the white-shoe firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
Trump's pick for Transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, is the daughter of
the owner of a major shipping company, which poses obvious problems. Former
Sen. Tom Daschle's marriage to a lobbyist was a source of consternation for
ethics watchdogs for years. There are other examples. The Beltway typically
yawns at these situations.
"In general, Washington has kind of a professional courtesy among the
corrupted to not take romantic partner conflicts seriously," says Jeff
Hauser, director of the Revolving Door Project. "It's a major issue."
Goldman Sachs isn't just a frequent flyer when it comes to SEC enforcement
fiascoes. The bank is also a regular applicant - and recipient - of SEC
waivers exempting it from the automatic penalties and sanctions that would
otherwise be triggered by their offenses.
Even if Clayton sits out these decisions, the situation is ridiculous. Who
needs an SEC chief who has to stay on the sidelines for some of the most
important cases the agency considers? It's like having a police commissioner
who has to cover his ears every time someone mentions the Crips or the Latin
Kings.
A year ago at this time, Donald Trump was ridiculing Ted Cruz for being a
"puppet" of Goldman. Now Clayton joins senior advisor Steve Bannon, Treasury
appointee Steve Mnuchin, NEC director Gary Cohn and White House advisor
Anthony Scaramucci as high-ranking Trump appointees who are either from
Goldman or married to someone at the firm. What a joke.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Jay Clayton. (photo: USA TODAY)
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/trump-pick-jay-clayton-to-be-m
ost-conflicted-sec-chair-ever-w459289http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/fe
atures/trump-pick-jay-clayton-to-be-most-conflicted-sec-chair-ever-w459289
Trump Nominee Jay Clayton Will Be the Most Conflicted SEC Chair Ever
By Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone
07 January 17
hen Donald Trump picked hotshot Wall Street defense lawyer Jay Clayton to
head the SEC Wednesday, there was a predictable outcry from certain
quarters. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who sits on the banking committee, had
one of the most circulated quotes:
"It's hard to see," Brown said, "how an attorney who's spent his career
helping Wall Street beat the rap will keep President-elect Trump's promise
to stop big banks and hedge funds from 'getting away with murder.'"
Most of the consternation over Clayton's appointment has to do with his own
background as a longtime defender of big banks. He's been involved in some
infamously shadowy episodes in the post-crisis era, with two in particular
standing out.
He represented Goldman Sachs when the firm received a $5 billion capital
infusion from Warren Buffet during the September 2008 meltdown. He also
represented Barclays during its malodorous acquisition of the assets of
Lehman Brothers, an episode one lawyer described to me years ago as "the
greatest bank robbery you never heard of." (There is a chapter about this
story in my last book, The Divide.)
That Clayton has been a devoted legal slave to the usual Wall Street
monsters over the years is obviously concerning, though not terribly
unusual.
What makes this situation somewhat unique is the fact that this incoming SEC
chief is also married to a broker at Goldman Sachs - his wife Gretchen is a
wealth management advisor. This means that a significant portion of
Clayton's family income while in office will presumably be coming from a
company he is charged with policing.
This is both far less common and a much bigger problem than you'd think. As
one former congressional aide put it to me today, "Clayton will be the most
financially conflicted SEC chairman in history."
Remember, at the Republican convention last year, Trump supporters heckled
Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi, for being a Goldman Sachs employee.
Where are all those furious Trump supporters now that their idol has put the
husband of a Goldman broker in charge of the SEC? Pretty quiet. You can hear
the crickets chirping all across America today.
How much of an ethical problem Clayton's marriage is can be seen in a
bizarre contradiction in the rules. As SEC chairman, Clayton going forward
will have to recuse himself from any enforcement decision involving Goldman.
This is no small thing, since Goldman has not exactly been a stranger to SEC
enforcement decisions over the years.
Yet even as he has to sit out Goldman's inevitable enforcement problems
because of his wife, Clayton will not have to recuse himself from rulemaking
decisions that could affect Goldman far more than isolated corruption cases.
Ethics rules say officials like Clayton do not have to recuse themselves
from matters of "general application," meaning in this case that Clayton may
rule on matters concerning Goldman, provided they also impact other banks.
But these decisions about things like the Volcker rule or fixed-income
transparency or swaps could have a profound impact on Goldman's bottom line,
with hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars at stake.
Who knows how much this will or even could affect his wife's personal
compensation. Industry lawyers I spoke with today seemed split on how big a
deal it is. But all agreed that it's not a good look for Clayton.
"I get the feeling that this Trump crew doesn't particularly care how bad
things look, though," said one.
Obviously there have been many previous instances of familial conflicts
involving government officials. Even the outgoing SEC chief, Mary Jo White,
was criticized for conflicts involving her husband, John White, a partner at
the white-shoe firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
Trump's pick for Transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, is the daughter of
the owner of a major shipping company, which poses obvious problems. Former
Sen. Tom Daschle's marriage to a lobbyist was a source of consternation for
ethics watchdogs for years. There are other examples. The Beltway typically
yawns at these situations.
"In general, Washington has kind of a professional courtesy among the
corrupted to not take romantic partner conflicts seriously," says Jeff
Hauser, director of the Revolving Door Project. "It's a major issue."
Goldman Sachs isn't just a frequent flyer when it comes to SEC enforcement
fiascoes. The bank is also a regular applicant - and recipient - of SEC
waivers exempting it from the automatic penalties and sanctions that would
otherwise be triggered by their offenses.
Even if Clayton sits out these decisions, the situation is ridiculous. Who
needs an SEC chief who has to stay on the sidelines for some of the most
important cases the agency considers? It's like having a police commissioner
who has to cover his ears every time someone mentions the Crips or the Latin
Kings.
A year ago at this time, Donald Trump was ridiculing Ted Cruz for being a
"puppet" of Goldman. Now Clayton joins senior advisor Steve Bannon, Treasury
appointee Steve Mnuchin, NEC director Gary Cohn and White House advisor
Anthony Scaramucci as high-ranking Trump appointees who are either from
Goldman or married to someone at the firm. What a joke.
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
