Lanny Breuer Cashes in After Not Prosecuting Wall Street Execs-- Approximate Salary of 4 million $

[antigop]

http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/17885-lanny-breuer-cashes-in-after-not-prosecuting-wall-street-execs-will-receive-approximate-salary-of-4-million-dollars

It's official, and former Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Division Chef Lanny Breuer is bragging about it. He'll return for the third to time the white collar (now expanding its clients internationally) legal defense firm of Covington & Burling, but this time at a whopping salary.

According to the New York Times: "Mr. Breuer is expected to earn about $4 million in his first year at Covington. In addition to representing clients, he will serve as an ambassador of sorts for the firm as it seeks to grow overseas."

As BuzzFlash at Truthout has speculated before, one can argue (and the same holds true for Eric Holder, also a Covington & Burling alumni appointee), Breuer was building his value in the marketplace at the DOJ, while Wall Street executives who nearly destroyed the American economy went unprosecuted. And his future value to his old white collar defense firm was dependent, in large part, on him not angering the people who would be the clients of Covington & Burling when he left the Department of Justice. The result, one can contend: no prosecutions of banks "too big to fail" execs as publicly stated as a policy by both Breuer and Holder.

This isn't just a revolving door; one can argue it's a dereliction of legal responsibility by an employee of the people of the United States. One can proffer that it's a cash-in career move by a resume climber who was careful not to bite the hands that will write the checks that will feed him on a lavish scale.

[antigop]

1. kick nt

[Mnemosyne]

2. Wtf nt

[RedCappedBandit]

3. Welp, there it is. knr

[MannyGoldstein]

4. No shit?

Pretty surprising.

I guess he earned it, fair and square.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

5. Who else at the DOJ is in line to cash in?

Is Eric Holder waiting in line?

Isn't this what a civilized society calls "corruption?"

[ReRe]

16. Yeah... it's a revolving door.

... But what was the revolving door policy that PO stated he would require of his administration? At this point, I truly can't remember. Yeah, in lots ofr impelling ways, our governmnet looks like a great big revolving door. Where justice has nothing to do with anything. Yes, we appear to be a corrupt rogue nation now. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutey.

[woo me with science]

20. YES.

CORRUPTION.

[awoke_in_2003]

75. People who still think we are a republic...

are a bit naive.

[KT2000]

6. this just may have

finished me off.
The only way to go from here is total cynicism. We will become a society like Russia and China - accepting of the corruption with success being able to work within it.
We will learn to not speak against power.
That Eric Holder was not replaced and Breuer fired says this goes to the top.

[NBachers]

7. It's not a revolving door, it's a revolting door

[bhikkhu]

8. Not to forget - a lack of prosecutions is a consequence of persistent budget cuts

The government agencies responsible for tackling fraud have had to work with dwindling resources for years. Out of court settlements are the rule, as trials are costly. Not a good situation, but there are some good people doing the best they can in there.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/15/financial-fraud-prosecution_n_1095933.html

[MannyGoldstein]

9. Breuer said that the bankers simply weren't guilty of anything.

Didn't mention resources.

How many resources do we have keeping the country safe from pot smokers?

[bhikkhu]

11. Couldn't find that quote - do you mean from this?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-23/assistant-attorney-general-admits-tv-us-justice-does-not-apply-banks

or was it a different thing?

[bulloney]

38. You always get the argument from the RW that we don't need more laws, just enforce the ones we have.

Then, when you press these white collar crime apologists on why there have been no prosecutions on these Wall Street criminals, they'll tell you that they didn't do anything illegal based on what's currently law.

Well, what is it? Do we have adequate laws in the books or don't we?

To today's conservative, if you're rich, it absolves you from anything because you must be right because you're rich.

[bhikkhu]

39. The laws in this case aren't bad, Dodd-Frank is a good reform package

etc...but all the best laws in the world are useless if they aren't enforced. I don't think that's a RW idea.

The RW approach seems to be selective enforcement, exempting the wealthy. In this case, it is assured by not funding the agency in charge of enforcement, on the one hand, and then (admittedly) by guys like Breuer who don't seem particularly concerned.

[MoclipsHumptulips]

60. bullshit. right wing bullshit.

reallocate resources.

[abelenkpe]

10. K&R nt

[antigop]

12. Link to the NY times article

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101659253

[Volaris]

13. Christ what a dirty little weasel.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

15. Only one?

There are no other weasels guarding the hen house?

How many more weasels do they have? What's their going price?

[Volaris]

19. Oh, I know.

what really pisses me off though is that we allow and abet this kind of shit. We have to do three things:
corporate non-personhood
publicly-funded elections
outlawing PAID lobbyists (if you believe in something enough to go to the Capitol and convince Congress that your cause is worthwile, that's not a thing anyone should have to PAY you for, minus maybe travel expenses).

I think I might write my Senator a letter...

[AnotherMcIntosh]

57. It would be interesting to know whether your Sen responds in a way other than "Thank you for

your support. Send money."

[Volaris]

63. Well I live in Missouri, so it's McCaskill were talking about,

so probably it depends on the day=)

[red dog 1]

53. Here's another weasel.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-j-reilly/steven-reich-to-depart-justice-department_b_2917912.html/

[AnotherMcIntosh]

56. How soon for Holder? How much is he worth to the banksters?

[rhett o rick]

65. Hey, it's not personal, it's just business.

[antigop]

14. Link to Corporate Crime Reporter

http://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/news/200/breuercovington03282013/

Lanny Breuer back to Covington

Lanny Breuer is returning to Covington & Burling.

At Covington, the controversial former chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division will head one of the top corporate criminal defense practices in the city.

As chief of the Criminal Division, Breuer had to face down politicians, reporters and public interest activists who wanted to know why no major financial institution or executive from a major financial institution has been criminally prosecuted since the financial crisis.

These confrontations resulted in two high profile television news documentaries — one that ran on CBS News 60 Minutes in December 2011 titled Prosecuting Wall Street — and another that ran in January 2013 on PBS’s Frontline titled The Untouchables.

[grahamhgreen]

17. kick (Obama in the butt!)

[johnnyreb]

18. Get every BAR association on record

Occupy is suing Wall Street federal regulators--

Get every BAR that Breuer and similar figures are members of to take a formal ethical position. Send complaints, document correspondence via certified mail, request formal ethics opinions, occupy, whatever.

http://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility.html

[woo me with science]

21. CORRUPTION.

LET'S ALL SAY IT: CORRUPTION.

[red dog 1]

22. Are the rats fleeing a sinking ship?

Associate Deputy Attorney General Steven Reich, who has overseen the Justice department's handling of Congressional investigations into Fast And Furious and
Aaron Schwartz will depart the Justice Department on April 1

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ryan-j-reilly/steven-reich-to-depart-justice-department_b_2917912.html/

[AnotherMcIntosh]

58. No. There is a general five-year statute of limitations. Those who were hired to enforce the law

have let the clock run out or are letting the clock run out.

They are not afraid of anything. They don't view the situation as being on a sinking ship.

They are merely picking up what is due to them from the rich and super-rich, or they are preparing to do so. It is corruption.

[AzDar]

23. ...

[idwiyo]

24. K&R

[LittleBlue]

25. Bribery by another name

Look at the number of ex-officials (even presidents) who give favorable decisions toward companies who later pay them huge speaking fees, or give them cushy jobs with multimillion dollar salaries.

Disgusting.

[Fumesucker]

26. K&R

[KG]

27. I am shocked, SHOCKED to see, um,

not really.

[woo me with science]

28. Kick. Keep this on top. nt

[forestpath]

29. K&R Obama's DOJ in action.

[rucky]

30. We should bring back tarring and feathering

just for occasions like this.

[Solly Mack]

31. K/R

[BlancheSplanchnik]

32. .

[Octafish]

33. Well deserved.

For the non-paupers in spirit, a pot of gold awaits...

Neil Barofsky Gave Us The Best Explanation For Washington's Dysfunction We've Ever Heard

Linette Lopez
Business Insider, Aug. 1, 2012, 2:57 PM

Neil Barofsky was the Inspector General for TARP, and just wrote a book about his time in D.C. called Bailout: An Insider Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street.

SNIP...

Bottom line: Barofsky said the incentive structure in our nation's capitol is all wrong. There's a revolving door between bureaucrats in Washington and Wall Street banks, and politicians just want to keep their jobs.

For regulators it's something like this:

"You can play ball and good things can happen to you get a big pot of gold at the end of the Wall Street rainbow or you can do your job be aggressive and face personal ruin...We really need to rethink how we govern and how regulate," Barofsky said.

CONTINUED... http://www.businessinsider.com/neil-barofsky-2012-8

"Integrity is for paupers." -- traditional saying, ABCNNBCBSFixedNoiseNutworks

[MannyGoldstein]

68. Elizabeth Warren 2016

She'll end that shit, I suspect.

[KoKo]

34. It was to be expected... Revolving door......n/t

[mercuryblues]

35. Yet

women made homeless because of the greed get prosecuted when they send their kids to school with a fake home address. Theft of services, so much for a free education.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x918882

[BlueManFan]

36. Cha Ching

Chalk one up for the common man. Bwwwwwwaaaaa.....self serving bastard bastard got his payday. That's what he was doing while he fucking over hard working Americans who lost their shirts to greedy bankers. Democracy my ass.

[OneGrassRoot]

37. K&R Thank you n/t

[grahampuba]

40. probably the underlying narrative of a career politician

Since Thom Hartman posited the notion a few years ago, have looked at most politicians through that lens and then things make sense.

'service' in any political regards is a good career move.

Its like young adults signing up to be pages to learn the innerworkings of congress, but once that illusion of a representative democracy is wiped away the astute businessman realizes that most congressional members are just paid and well dressed pages learning the ways from lobbyists and the real ruling parties of the united states, the corporations.

[DeSwiss]

41. Some believe that no laws were broken.

Barack Obama: ''Some of the worst and most unethical things that happened on Wall Street weren't illegal.''

- I wasn't aware they'd repealed all the laws against fraud.....

K&R

[woo me with science]

42. Keep this kicked.

We are bought and sold.

[MrScorpio]

43. Of course, he did nt

[nineteen50]

44. New age

money laundering. Call it a job when it is payoff.

[bvar22]

45. "Not Prosecuting Wall Street Execs" ?

[font size=3]Now, now, Manny.
You "can't begrudge them their wealth."
I know some of these guys, "and they are just savvy businessmen."
"I mean, look at all the Baseball Players."
"Its the Free Market", Manny.[/font]

[WillyT]

46. K & R !!!

[limpyhobbler]

47. k/r (nt)

[libodem]

48. .

[yourout]

49. "it's a dereliction of legal responsibility by an....."

+1.....if you were in the military it would be dereliction of duty or outright treason.

[red dog 1]

50. K&R...Thanks for posting this.

[antigop]

52. and thanks for the K&R. We need to keep this visible nt

[sfpcjock]

51. Here's a mugshot of the enemy for your mantle.

[nikto]

54. All we can do...

Is pray for a blood clot.

[formercia]

73. Spam Face

New Dick Tracy Bad guy.

[woo me with science]

55. Keep it on top.

[antigop]

59. Thanks, woo. nt

[AnotherMcIntosh]

74. x2

[blkmusclmachine]

61. Savvy.

[Smarmie Doofus]

62. Arne Duncan's press sec bailed a couple of weeks ago to work for sleazebag Murdoch.

Does that count?

Murdoch's News Corp ( which currently employs Obama's *almost Sec of Ed, Joel Klein) is moving into the trillion dollar ed market in a big way.

Will Arne be next?

And... I know this is dangerous territory here but here goes:

Exactly what plans ( or dreams) does the chief executive himself have for January 2017. He'll still be young and politics so far has brought him everything but megabucks.

Think about it: all his buds will be multimillionaires ( at LEAST) except for him.

[rhett o rick]

64. So what does our President have to say about this corruption in his administration?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

67. Maybe something like "I'm a warrior for the middle-class."

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/barackobam416686.html

[Autumn]

66. Yeah, but he has an emotional pull to them!!!!!

Give the poor guy a break. It's not like any Wall Streeters were injured by this.

[raouldukelives]

69. Gasp! Its almost as if our govt is bought & paid for! nt

[DFW]

70. Covington Burling, how interesting

That was one of the firms where my daughter applied for a summer internship during her first year of law school. Apparently she wasn't their type. She ended up being the U.N.'s type--she spent her first summer internship with the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal in Sierra Leone in western Africa. I hate to think what kind of lawyer she might have ended up being, had Covington offered her a job!

[antigop]

71. kick nt

[HiPointDem]

72. kr

[Rex]

76. The plutocracy rolls along...

destroying the working class by the 1000's in it's wake. My country is a sad pretender of capitalism.

[dreamnightwind]

77. K & R to bump this thing - eom

[antigop]

78. thanks. nt