White House sued for covering up crimes of JPMorgan
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Blue Pilgrim
Feb 15, 2014, 12:59:51 AM2/15/14
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Corruption is now the coin of the realm.
What the fascists want, the fascists get.
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/02/15/morg-f15.html
White House sued for covering up crimes of JPMorgan
By Gabriel Black
15 February 2014
Better Markets, a non-profit Wall Street
watchdog, filed a lawsuit Monday against the US
Department of Justice (DOJ) alleging that its $13
billion settlement with JPMorgan Chase over the
bank’s sale of toxic mortgage-backed securities
in the run-up to the financial crisis was an illegal cover-up.
Better Markets said the deal, worked out in
November 2013, “gave JP Morgan Chase… blanket
civil immunity for years of alleged pervasive,
egregious and knowing fraudulent and illegal
conduct that contributed to the 2008 financial
crash and the worst economy since the Great Depression.”
The lawsuit argues that the Department of Justice
sought to use the deal—the largest settlement
with a single entity in US history (by more than
300 percent)—to protect JPMorgan and its
executives from prosecution. Under the terms of
the settlement, the bank was not required to admit to any wrongdoing.
Better Markets alleges that, “the DOJ violated
the Constitution and laws of the United States by
using a mere contractual agreement to resolve
claims of historic importance without subjecting
the Agreement to independent judicial review.”
In November, the Obama administration and
JPMorgan concluded a series of confidential,
off-the-record, negotiations—including
discussions between JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and
Attorney General Eric Holder—with the
announcement that the bank would pay $13 billion
to settle charges that it knowingly sold
worthless mortgage-backed securities on false pretences.
In reality, JPMorgan will pay much less than the
stated amount. Only $9 billion of the total is in
cash, the rest taking the form of relief to
homeowners behind on their payments. It is likely
that the bank was already planning to offer much
of this $4 billion in relief for business reasons.
Most of the remaining $9 billion will be
tax-deductible, meaning the bank will end up
paying only part of it. JPMorgan’s fine amounts
to a sliver of the trillions of dollars of damage
wrought by the global financial crisis and only a
fraction of its annual profit.
The complaint alleges that the Obama
administration illegally sought to bypass
judicial review to ensure a favorable deal for
the bank. It states: “[T]he executive branch,
through DOJ, acted as investigator, prosecutor,
judge, jury, sentencer and collector, without any
review or approval of its unilateral and largely
secret actions.” It continues: “The Executive
Branch simply does not have the unilateral power
or authority to do so by entering a mere contract
with the private entity without any constitutional checks and balances.”
At a press conference, Dennis Kelleher, head of
Better Markets, said, “The Justice Department has
a self-interest, if not a motive, for making sure
that their conduct cannot be independently evaluated.”
Attorney General Holder previously worked for
Covington & Burling, a Washington law firm that
represented top banks responsible for the 2008
financial crash. He made a point of meeting
one-on-one with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Better
Markets notes that only “a few years ago” Dimon
was “considered a possible Treasury secretary.”
During Obama’s first term, Dimon was a frequent
guest at the White House. He was known in
Washington as Obama’s “favorite banker.” When
Dimon was caught concealing billions of dollars
in derivatives losses in 2012, Obama rushed to
his defense, calling him “one of the smartest bankers we’ve got.”
Better Markets notes that the deal was worked out
entirely at the discretion of JPMorgan. The
“cellphone of DOJ’s third-highest ranking
official rang with the ‘familiar’ phone number of
[Dimon], who called to offer billions of dollars
[in fines] to stop DOJ from holding a press
conference and filing a lawsuit in just a few
hours.” Dimon’s offer was taken and the press conference was called off.
Better Markets accuses the Justice Department of
being excessively “vague” in order to avoid any
question of culpability. The DOJ, it charges,
“did not disclose the identity of a single
JPMorgan Chase executive, officer or employee, no
matter how involved in or responsible for the illegal conduct.”
The complaint asks many important questions: “How
much did JPMorgan Chase’s clients, customers… and
others lose as a result of its fraudulent
conduct?... How much revenue, profits, and other
benefits did JPMorgan Chase receive?... Who
received what amount of bonuses for the illegal conduct?”
The complaint asks, “Why did the contract fail to
impose on JPMorgan Chase any obligation to change
any of its business compliance practices… how can
the sanctions effectively punish and deter
JPMorgan Chase, given its wealth and its extensive history of lawless conduct?”
The criminal activities of JPMorgan are not the
exception on Wall Street, but the rule. In 2011,
Senator Carl Levin, chairman on the Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, oversaw
a 630-page report on the financial crash
detailing illegal activities by Washington
Mutual, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs that
contributed to the global crisis. He said the
investigation had uncovered “a financial snake
pit rife with greed, conflicts of interest and wrongdoing.”
Over the past year, JPMorgan has agreed to pay
over $20 billion in settlements to cover a
dizzying array of charges. Less than a month ago,
the bank agreed to pay $2.05 billion in fines and
penalties to settle charges that it was an
accomplice in the multi-billion-dollar Ponzi
scheme operated by Bernie Madoff, who is
currently serving a 150-year prison term.
All of the government’s settlements with JPMorgan
are designed to create the appearance of
oversight, while allowing the bank to continue
the same practices that led to the 2008 crash.
Dimon just received a 74 percent pay raise for
2013, bringing his total compensation to $20 million.
What the fascists want, the fascists get.
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/02/15/morg-f15.html
White House sued for covering up crimes of JPMorgan
By Gabriel Black
15 February 2014
Better Markets, a non-profit Wall Street
watchdog, filed a lawsuit Monday against the US
Department of Justice (DOJ) alleging that its $13
billion settlement with JPMorgan Chase over the
bank’s sale of toxic mortgage-backed securities
in the run-up to the financial crisis was an illegal cover-up.
Better Markets said the deal, worked out in
November 2013, “gave JP Morgan Chase… blanket
civil immunity for years of alleged pervasive,
egregious and knowing fraudulent and illegal
conduct that contributed to the 2008 financial
crash and the worst economy since the Great Depression.”
The lawsuit argues that the Department of Justice
sought to use the deal—the largest settlement
with a single entity in US history (by more than
300 percent)—to protect JPMorgan and its
executives from prosecution. Under the terms of
the settlement, the bank was not required to admit to any wrongdoing.
Better Markets alleges that, “the DOJ violated
the Constitution and laws of the United States by
using a mere contractual agreement to resolve
claims of historic importance without subjecting
the Agreement to independent judicial review.”
In November, the Obama administration and
JPMorgan concluded a series of confidential,
off-the-record, negotiations—including
discussions between JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and
Attorney General Eric Holder—with the
announcement that the bank would pay $13 billion
to settle charges that it knowingly sold
worthless mortgage-backed securities on false pretences.
In reality, JPMorgan will pay much less than the
stated amount. Only $9 billion of the total is in
cash, the rest taking the form of relief to
homeowners behind on their payments. It is likely
that the bank was already planning to offer much
of this $4 billion in relief for business reasons.
Most of the remaining $9 billion will be
tax-deductible, meaning the bank will end up
paying only part of it. JPMorgan’s fine amounts
to a sliver of the trillions of dollars of damage
wrought by the global financial crisis and only a
fraction of its annual profit.
The complaint alleges that the Obama
administration illegally sought to bypass
judicial review to ensure a favorable deal for
the bank. It states: “[T]he executive branch,
through DOJ, acted as investigator, prosecutor,
judge, jury, sentencer and collector, without any
review or approval of its unilateral and largely
secret actions.” It continues: “The Executive
Branch simply does not have the unilateral power
or authority to do so by entering a mere contract
with the private entity without any constitutional checks and balances.”
At a press conference, Dennis Kelleher, head of
Better Markets, said, “The Justice Department has
a self-interest, if not a motive, for making sure
that their conduct cannot be independently evaluated.”
Attorney General Holder previously worked for
Covington & Burling, a Washington law firm that
represented top banks responsible for the 2008
financial crash. He made a point of meeting
one-on-one with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Better
Markets notes that only “a few years ago” Dimon
was “considered a possible Treasury secretary.”
During Obama’s first term, Dimon was a frequent
guest at the White House. He was known in
Washington as Obama’s “favorite banker.” When
Dimon was caught concealing billions of dollars
in derivatives losses in 2012, Obama rushed to
his defense, calling him “one of the smartest bankers we’ve got.”
Better Markets notes that the deal was worked out
entirely at the discretion of JPMorgan. The
“cellphone of DOJ’s third-highest ranking
official rang with the ‘familiar’ phone number of
[Dimon], who called to offer billions of dollars
[in fines] to stop DOJ from holding a press
conference and filing a lawsuit in just a few
hours.” Dimon’s offer was taken and the press conference was called off.
Better Markets accuses the Justice Department of
being excessively “vague” in order to avoid any
question of culpability. The DOJ, it charges,
“did not disclose the identity of a single
JPMorgan Chase executive, officer or employee, no
matter how involved in or responsible for the illegal conduct.”
The complaint asks many important questions: “How
much did JPMorgan Chase’s clients, customers… and
others lose as a result of its fraudulent
conduct?... How much revenue, profits, and other
benefits did JPMorgan Chase receive?... Who
received what amount of bonuses for the illegal conduct?”
The complaint asks, “Why did the contract fail to
impose on JPMorgan Chase any obligation to change
any of its business compliance practices… how can
the sanctions effectively punish and deter
JPMorgan Chase, given its wealth and its extensive history of lawless conduct?”
The criminal activities of JPMorgan are not the
exception on Wall Street, but the rule. In 2011,
Senator Carl Levin, chairman on the Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, oversaw
a 630-page report on the financial crash
detailing illegal activities by Washington
Mutual, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs that
contributed to the global crisis. He said the
investigation had uncovered “a financial snake
pit rife with greed, conflicts of interest and wrongdoing.”
Over the past year, JPMorgan has agreed to pay
over $20 billion in settlements to cover a
dizzying array of charges. Less than a month ago,
the bank agreed to pay $2.05 billion in fines and
penalties to settle charges that it was an
accomplice in the multi-billion-dollar Ponzi
scheme operated by Bernie Madoff, who is
currently serving a 150-year prison term.
All of the government’s settlements with JPMorgan
are designed to create the appearance of
oversight, while allowing the bank to continue
the same practices that led to the 2008 crash.
Dimon just received a 74 percent pay raise for
2013, bringing his total compensation to $20 million.
Mycos
May 17, 2018, 5:17:00 AM5/17/18
to The Authoritarians
Any more on this lawsuit?
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