Thursday, July 26, 2012

Why Isn't The Obama DOJ Prosecuting Jon Corzine?

Jon Corzine, former MF Global boss

Awww, you remember Jon Corzine, don't you?

Ex-Senator, ex-governor of New Jersey, prominent Democrat. prominent Obama fundraiser...

You know, the ex-head of MF Global who still can't recall exactly what happened to $1.2 billion of his client's funds?

For some reason, in spite of all the president's class warfare rhetoric, no one at the Obama Department of Justice is prosecuting him. AllahPundit over at Hot Air speculates on why:

Via Breitbart, three possibilities here, all of them plausible and by no means mutually exclusive. One: The DOJ just isn’t in the business of prosecuting bankers anymore. If they didn’t go after anyone for the subprime crisis, they’re sure as shinola not going to start with a Democrat who used to be a governor and senator. Two: Corzine was and still is a mega-bundler for the Lightbringer, and as you know, there’s no creature in the Obama universe who’s valued quite as highly these days as a rich guy who can raise big dollars. To illustrate, clear your mind and reflect on all the stories you’ve read over the past six months about O attending ritzy fundraisers to keep feeding the maw of his huge campaign operation. Okay, now read this. QED. The Justice Department’s not going to deprive their boss of someone he desperately needs.

Three, per “Throw Them All Out” author Peter Schweizer: Turns out there are conflicts of interest galore at the DOJ for Eric Holder and his deputies when it comes to Corzine and MF Global.

First, the Government Accountability Institute has discovered that prior to going bankrupt, MF Global was a client of Mr. Holder’s former law firm, Covington & Burling. It is unclear how long Covington & Burling represented MF Global. However, records reveal that MF Global owed Covington & Burling $114,275.55 “for services rendered prior to Oct. 31, 2011,” the date MF Global filed for bankruptcy protection. Furthermore, this connection is complicated by the fact that the head of Justice’s criminal division, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, also hailed from Covington & Burling.

What’s more, Associate Attorney General Tony West, who helped raise an estimated $65 million in his role as the co-chairman of Mr. Obama’s campaign, came to the Department of Justice from Morrison & Foerster. The problem: MF Global’s trustee for the Chapter 11 bankruptcy has retained Morrison & Foerster as its general bankruptcy counsel.

Second, the trustee overseeing MF Global’s bankruptcy is former FBI Director Louis Freeh. During Mr. Holder’s 2009 Senate confirmation hearing, Mr. Freeh appeared as a witness testifying on Mr. Holder’s behalf. While Mr. Freeh stated that the two men shared no “social relationship,” the former FBI director praised the legal work Mr. Holder did for him when Mr. Freeh, then the general counsel for MBNA Bank in Wilmington, Del., retained Mr. Holder to represent MBNA Bank. “As general counsel, I could have engaged any lawyer in America to represent our bank,” Mr. Freeh said. “I chose Eric.”

It would seem the better part of wisdom for Mr. Holder to recuse himself from the investigation of MF Global given that the trustee and Mr. Holder have a clear previous legal relationship.



There's obviously a fourth possibility...and it might just explain where some of that $1.2 billion went.

When you look at things like this, President Obama's screeds about crony capitalism, Bain Capital, other people's tax returns and standing up for the middle class can only provoke an incredulous shake of the head or mocking laughter.

2 comments:

Bourbon said...

1. 1.6 Billion
2. Sick to my stomach
3. Warned everybody I could in NJ about this douchebag, as well as his predecessor, as well as BamBam.
By now you know that people don't listen to me...

Bourbon said...

1. 1.6 Billion
2. Sick to my stomach
3. Warned everybody I could in NJ about this douchebag, as well as his predecessor, as well as BamBam.
By now you know that people don't listen to me...