I may be wrong in the end, but this SEC choice is the worst appointment yet

[bigtree]

While Mary Jo White may well have been bullish on prosecuting terrorists, she was one of the main bears protecting Wall street from prosecution.

It's just that simple (and I'm a staunch partisan for the Obama WH and no fan of Taibbi and the rest who've called the admin out for this).

What would be the best case for this nomination of one of the main barristers for the bankers to watchdog the financial industry?

[1StrongBlackMan]

1. Well ...

she did lead the way in prosecutor penny-stock fraudsters.

[pscot]

6. That's equivalent to rounding up

the usual suspects. She made her bones without actually offending the power elite.

[babylonsister]

2. In case you missed this,

here's an entirely different take. I don't know either way; I guess we'll see.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251280068

[Enrique]

4. very popular thread

144 recs at this point. Nathaniel Downes, whoever he is, wrote what DU wanted to hear.

[bigtree]

5. I saw that . . . trouble though getting past this:

She defended former Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis on charges of civil security fraud and former Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack . . . husband was former SEC man.

and this:

White also represented the largest U.S. hospital chain, HCA, in the insider-trading investigations by the SEC and the Justice Department of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, whose family owned HCA. The investigations were closed in 2007 with no charges filed against Frist.
http://news.yahoo.com/obama-picks-mary-jo-white-lead-sec-155446076--finance.html

She's going to have a great deal of influence in that position . . . She'll likely be confirmed, so, we'll see

[babylonsister]

7. But you gotta love a beer guzzling motorcycle mama...

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/mary-jo-white-to-be-named-new-s-e-c-boss/

snip//

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the former United States attorney in Chicago who previously worked under Ms. White, called her “a force of nature.”

She also trained a generation of federal prosecutors. Two former assistants became high-level S.E.C. officials: Robert S. Khuzami, the departing enforcement chief, and George S. Canellos, his deputy. Preet Bharara, the current United States attorney in Manhattan, whom Ms. White hired in 1999, emphasized her “legendary work ethic,” citing her 1 a.m. e-mail dispatches. Her philosophy, Mr. Bharara said, was that prosecuting wrongdoing was “not just about earning notches on your belt.”

While former employees described her as “no nonsense,” she was often spotted sipping a Bud Light at a weekly social gathering for junior prosecutors. And despite being barely 5 feet tall, she also was an exuberant point guard in a local lawyers’ basketball league, and once arrived at a tennis match on a red motorcycle, while Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman” blared loudly.

more...

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/mary-jo-white-to-be-named-new-s-e-c-boss/

[bigtree]

11. lol

. . . born to be wild.

[Enrique]

3. this is the first I've heard about this

countless threads at DU have portrayed her as an aggressive prosecutor, and that Taibbi article is the first article I've read that mentions her Wall Street practice, which apparently has made her very wealthy.

I agree this appears to be a bad pick, but I predict that "in the end", excuses will be found.

[1StrongBlackMan]

9. In my view ...

the jury is still out on White's effectiveness; but I do not hold her defense of wallstreeters against her ... it was her job at the time. Attorneys defend clients' position that are diametrically opposed to their personal positions, everyday. And, when they do so effectively, that speaks volumes about their abilities.

Byway of analogy ... Many here would pass on signing a top tier Quarterback, because they once played for a different team. A Quarterback's job is to win games; an attorney's job is to win case ... neither, job entails, or requires, belief in a particular political ideology to be effective.

[Enrique]

12. for me it's a question of incentives and interests

i'm grateful to my employer, who pays me a well-below-median income.

White no doubt was paid an astronomical fee to fend off the feds, and she likely is living a very comfortable life and knows who to thank for that. That natural gratitude could easily conflict with her duties at the SEC.

And she is also aware of what might be waiting for her when she leaves government service, and that awareness could also be a conflict.

[1StrongBlackMan]

13. This ...

White no doubt was paid an astronomical fee to fend off the feds, and she likely is living a very comfortable life and knows who to thank for that. That natural gratitude could easily conflict with her duties at the SEC.

Is simply not the case for most attorneys ... Hell, most people. Are you saying that if YOU worked for employer X and Employer X compensated extremely well; when you move on to X's Competitor, Company Y (even at much lower compensation), you would tank you job?

And she is also aware of what might be waiting for her when she leaves government service, and that awareness could also be a conflict.

Again, that's not how it works in the legal field (maybe for Congress and some political appointees) ... The common comment is, "If you can't beat 'em, hire 'em." And most of the government attorneys that I have known acted on this by knowing their stuff and being tough; thereby, increasing their value when leaving government.

[Romulox]

8. Oh what difference does it make? There'll be no prosecution of banksters, and everyone knows it. nt

[bigtree]

10. this pretty much seals it, I think

" . . . wouldn't want a overkill, sweeping into the prosecutorial frenzy people who should not be charged.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwasik/2013/01/25/mary-jo-white-good-cop-or-bad-cop-for-wall-street/

[1StrongBlackMan]

14. The complete quote is ...

In 2002, she worried about the government arresting too many top executives – “Arresting executives is a way that the government tries to prove it means what it says in terms of cracking down,” White told The New York Times in 2002. “The danger, of course — and it’s a significant one — is overkill, sweeping into the prosecutorial frenzy people who should not be charged.”

Are you suggesting that she does not believe those that should not be charged, just to make a point, would be an appropriate or just approach?

So no ... that doesn't seal anything.