Bank-owned States: When Justice is Financial and Political Suicide

[cyu]

http://blacklistednews.visibli.com/share/9QwDHF

federal prosecutions of financial crimes are at a 20 year low.

Attorney General Eric Holder says he can’t find any fraud.

all the big banks are clients of Holder’s law firm — a law firm that partially specializes in financial crime defense

[cyu]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/09/14

An international commission warns that the world's democracies, and the United States specifically, are being corrupted by the increasingly strong role of "uncontrolled, undisclosed, illegal and opaque" financing of political campaigns.

powerful financial institutions and the surging influence of money in politics was harmful to both emerging and more developed democracies across the globe. "The rise of uncontrolled political finance threatens to hollow out democracy everywhere and rob democracy of its strengths".

The report cited a national survey which found a majority of people believe Super Pacs to be a danger to democracy.

"Nearly two-thirds of Americans said that they trust government less because big donors have more influence over election officials than average Americans."

Urgent attention must be given to address the growing threat to democracy posed by financing of political campaigns, parties and candidates by transnational organised crime

[cyu]

Economic, political, moral, and social decay

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/121226/joseph-stiglitz-us-income-inequality

increasing economic inequality leading to increasing inequality in political power, which, in turn, leads to further increased economic inequality — may make it more difficult for America to reverse its course than when it did so during other periods

In spite of being a rich country, those at the bottom in the US have inadequate healthcare and food. When I visited India this year, I remember how scandalous they thought it was that not everybody had access to food. People in other societies view this as a lack of humanity.

Rent-seekers extract profit from existing industries without contributing value. They use their wealth to consolidate their power, by influencing regulations and government policies.

Inequality has tarnished our democracy by giving money a disproportionate amount of influence — from the role of lobbying to campaign contributions to the role of revolving doors.

some people were being thrown out of their homes who did not owe any money, and banks were in effect lying to the court, saying that they had examined the mortgage records, but hadn't, those banks still haven’t been properly prosecuted.

this is not to say that all banks are bad. There are good bankers and banks. What's worrisome is the political power of those who don't want reform.

[cyu]

Factions of the aristocracy fighting proxy battles in their courts

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/10/us-lawsuit-justice-jpmorgan-idUSBREA191ET20140210

The non-profit group Better Markets filed a lawsuit to block what it called an unlawful settlement with JPMorgan Chase over bad mortgage loans sold to investors before the financial crisis.

Better Markets said it was appalled that the settlement gave the bank "blanket civil immunity" without sufficient judicial review.

The Justice Department cannot act as prosecutor, jury and judge and extract $13 billion in exchange for blanket civil immunity to the largest, richest, most politically connected bank on Wall Street

The settlement was released to the public, but not filed in federal court. While the Justice Department enters into non-prosecution agreements on the criminal side without filing them in court, it rarely enters into similar out-of-court settlements over civil violations.

the settlement lacked facts that could help justify the deal, such as failing to name any individuals responsible for wrongdoing, how much damage investors suffered or even which specific laws were violated.

No one has any ability to determine if the $13 billion agreement is fair, adequate, reasonable, and in the public interest or if this is a sweetheart deal entered into behind closed doors

[cyu]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-15/explosive-scandal-head-polish-central-bank-recorded-promising-assistance-government-

Polish magazine Wprost released a recording of central bank Governor Marek Belka.

Belka was discussing “non-standard” support that includes “very significant change” in central bank status, saying he’s ready to help under condition that Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski is replaced by "technical and apolitical finance minister, who will find full support in the central bank."

an elected government official being replaced by unelected technocrats who get the blessing of bankers. Where have we seen that before? Oh wait, pretty much in every insolvent European country whose government is merely a group of sock-puppets designed to perpetuate the lie of democracy.

central banks are really the only "governing" force, subject to zero checks and balances, in a world in which the farce of democracy has been completely eradicated has finally been revealed to the entire public.

the central bank after all is the supreme governing institution in the New Normal, a world which is run not by government but by banks. it only makes sense that unelected central bankers are convinced they are above everyone, and certainly the law.

[cyu]

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-09-26/the-secret-goldman-sachs-tapes

in one meeting a Goldman employee expressed the view that "once clients are wealthy enough certain consumer laws don't apply to them." Segarra turned to a fellow Fed regulator and said how surprised she was by that statement -- to which the regulator replied, "You didn't hear that."

This sort of thing occurred often enough -- Fed regulators denying what had been said in meetings, Fed managers asking her to alter minutes of meetings after the fact -- that Segarra began to record her meetings at Goldman Sachs, until she was fired.

[cyu]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-06/when-goldman-writes-new-york-feds-press-releases-then-all-lost

nothing will change under the current corrupt and compromised executive, legislative and judicial system, because at the end of the day, Goldman has indirect control over all three branches of government.

As the financial crisis raged in September 2008, Goldman drafted another release and sent it to the New York Fed. This one was to be used as the central bank’s own statement.

the Federal Reserve of Goldman Sachs (in New York and everywhere else), is the bank that not only calls all the shots and makes the rules, but it also writes the words on the Fed's teleprompter.

I Am Putting Everything In Goldman Sachs Because These Guys Can Do Whatever The Hell They Want (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-09-28/i-am-putting-everything-goldman-sachs-because-these-guys-can-do-whatever-hell-they-w)

[cyu]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-14/fed-vice-chairman-shocked-wall-street-influence-after-jamie-dimon-whips-cromnibus-vo

“I thought that when Dodd-Frank started, that the banks would not succeed in influencing it, having lost all the prestige they lost. Boy, was I wrong.”

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon made calls to lawmakers on Thursday urging them to support the “cromnibus” spending bill. Jamie Dimon and the president started to whip. "It is just very strange that the two of them would be working for the support of this bill."

When asked if Obama had sold out to Wall Street, Waters replied: "That's not for me to determine. I know that the president was whipping. I know that Jamie Dimon was whipping and calling directly into members' offices. And that's odd. That's an odd combination."