Thursday, June 28, 2012

Fast, Furious and Curious

The same day that the Department of Justice went after some of the responsible of the world economy turmoil, Eric Holder was declared in revolt with Congress for the Fast and Furious program. Four more global banks are being investigated for the alleged financial market manipulation that led to fines of $453 million against Barclays Bank, British Treasury chief George Osborne said Thursday, causing stocks in those groups to plummet. For many the action of Congress is trying to stop Holder of digging so deep in the investigation that might hurt several legislators.

The following is a list of lawmakers who broke with their parties on the vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in criminal contempt of Congress.

Democrats who voted for contempt:
Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa.
Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga. (I Did it Again!) Voted against Obamacare, Immigration Reform & Nancy Pelossi. (Video below)
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla.
Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa
Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Ky.
Rep. Mark Critz, D-Pa.
Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind.
Rep. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y.
Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis.
Rep. Larry Kissell, D-N.C.
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah
Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C.
Rep. Bill Owens, D-N.Y.
Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn.
Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.
Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark.
Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn.
Republicans who voted against contempt:
Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio
Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va.

A total of 108 Democrats did not vote. Only one Republican did not vote. One lawmaker, Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., also voted present.

The U.S. CFTC said Barclays attempted to manipulated Libor submissions “sometimes on a daily basis” over a four-year period starting in 2005. The CFTC ordered the bank to pay a $200-million penalty, saying it was the largest civil monetary penalty it has ever imposed.

Barclays also settled with the U.S. Department of Justice and the UK’s Financial Services Authority and will pay fines of $160-million and $92.8 -million, respectively.

The Department of Justice said Barclays was the first bank being probed “to provide extensive and meaningful cooperation to the government,” adding that the bank’s assistance had aided its criminal investigation.

The bipartisan action "show me the papers" against Holder is a political move and is sending a strong signal to the electorate and the 99% movement regarding the power of Wall Street in Capitol hill.




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