Matt Taibbi: Barack Obama's former top cop cashes in after six years of letting banks run wild

[HomerRamone]

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/eric-holder-wall-street-double-agent-comes-in-from-the-cold-20150708?utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=daily&utm_campaign=070815_16&utm_medium=email&ea=cGVycnlhZGxlckBob3RtYWlsLmNvbQ==

Eric Holder, Wall Street Double Agent, Comes in From the Cold

By Matt Taibbi

...Collectively, the decisions he made while in office saved those firms a sum that is impossible to calculate with exactitude. But even going by the massive rises in share price observed after he handed out these deals, his service was certainly worth many billions of dollars to Wall Street.

Now he will presumably collect assloads of money from those very same bankers. It's one of the biggest quid pro quo deals in the history of government service. Congressman Billy Tauzin once took a $2 million-a-year job lobbying for the pharmaceutical industry just a few weeks after helping to pass the revolting Prescription Drug Benefit Bill, but what Holder just did makes Tauzin look like a guy who once took a couple of Redskins tickets...

Holder doubtless seriously believed at first that in a time of financial crisis, he was doing the right thing in constructing new forms of justice for banks, where nobody but the shareholders actually had to pay for crime. You've heard of victimless crimes; Holder created the victimless punishment.

But in the end, it was pretty convenient, wasn't it, that "the right thing" also happened to be the strategy that preserved Democratic Party relationships with big-dollar donors, kept the client base at Holder's old firm nice and fat, made the influential rich immeasurably richer and allowed Eric Holder himself to crash-land into a giant pile of money upon resignation.

What a coincidence! In any civilized country, it'd be a scandal. In America, though, he's just another guy selling whatever he can to get by. It was just too bad that what Holder had to sell was the criminal justice system.

[randys1]

1. Agree completely, but dont pretend Holder is alone in this either with previous AG's

or just mainstream politicians.

[Skittles]

25. who exactly is pretending that?

or is this the usual mitigation attempt?

[840high]

51. +1

[merrily]

91. Um, Holder was the first AG since the banksters crashed the economies of the US and several

other nations by selling the public crap mortgage derivatives.. There is nothing comparable in US history since we did not have securities laws when the crash of 1929 happened.

[bvar22]

124. You are correct, Holder is not alone.

Someone had to appoint him,
and then Cover-his-Ass for 6 years.

[randys1]

133. you mean SUPERMAN?

and his 302 accomplishments?


http://pleasecutthecrap.com/obama-accomplishments/

[Unknown Beatle]

150. "Brought Much-Improved Transparency and Better Government"

You're kidding, right?

[olddots]

2. D.C. is the new Vegas

AMERICA THE SLEAZY

[arcane1]

3. His entire term as AG was one long performance review, apparently.

And his salary surely took that into consideration.

Something to think about when you look at a candidate's donors.

[Skittles]

4. the swooners need to add this to THE LIST

fucking SICKENING

[Fred Sanders]

20. Whereas beginning and ending a short and cryptic comment with smears is healthy?

[Skittles]

24. love how that is more insulting to you than Holder's actions

TYPICAL

[Rex]

122. IKR!?

Some are not very clever.

[Skittles]

152. that is a mild way of putting it

yes indeed

[Rex]

153. Mild concern trolling is all the rage now.

Just under the radar yes indeed

[rhett o rick]

44. What does that have to do with the issue at hand? If that is a distraction it's lame.

Eric Holder represents every thing corrupt in our government and he calls himself a Democrat. When the banksters get away with the theft of hundreds of billions or more, it leaves the rest of us to try to save the lives of the poor. How in the world do you justify that Holder can get away with representing the wealthy and not the people? The ever widening wealth inequality is literally killing Americans for lack of proper health care to lack of food. Eric Holder prosecuted medical marijuana users in states that legalized it while letting the bankers off scot-free. I do not understand how a Democrat could support the banks and not the poor. How do you justify it?

[Facility Inspector]

57. Is Eric Holder actually a Democrat?

[rhett o rick]

62. Sorry, but what's your point? He obviously meets the definition of Democrat. nm

[Facility Inspector]

64. My point

is to ask a question for information purposes, because I honestly don't know the answer to the question.

[rhett o rick]

141. Well then I duely appologize. Most posting on this board are very familiar with

politics, but it's certainly not a requirement.

Here's a link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Holder

[BlueEye]

130. Are Democrats not allowed to work in the financial industry?

I missed that rule in the party's bylaws.

[JDPriestly]

142. One of the impediments to enforcing regulations and laws is the fact that so many

government employees take their government jobs with the thought in the back of their minds that they will eventually be able to take the skills and expertise they learn in say the SEC or some other agency into the private sector and make a lot of money with them.

Unfortunately, the hope of a very lucrative job following government service can influence government employee's willingness and enthusiasm about enforcing laws and regulations against potential future employers. That's called a conflict of interest, and lawyers are supposed to be careful about conflicts of interest. While working as AG in the Justice Department, Holder was an employee of the US government. Now he is working in a private law firm. Theoretically, that is not a conflict of interest. But was his leniency with banks and investment houses while working for the government to some even subconscious extent influenced by his hope and expectation that he would go back to his private law firm and should avoid antagonizing potential clients of that law firm or any other law firm he might go to in the back of his mind?

We have a serious problem with this revolving door between government enforcement work preceding or following private employment for the companies that could potentially be the subjects of regulation.

[Dustlawyer]

60. How about I give you a real example of Holder's duplicity in running interference for big

corporations?
Right after the BP Gulf oil spill we met with Holder and his minions twice. We requested that he revoke BP's probation (Our firm had found where BP had committed felonies that they subsequently pled out to from the BP Texas City, Texas explosion of March 23rd, 2005, 15 dead, 6,000 injured). We had a lot of documents showing the crimes as well as documents where they were budgeting on the price of their worker's lives and they made decisions based on costs and profits despite, in their own estimates, they would kill some of their workers rather than fix some expensive problems. It was cheaper to kill them!
Holder not only did not revoke the probation, he let them off early right after killing 11 more Americans and ruining the Gulf for thousands of years. There was no reason to let BP off early except to do a large multinational corporation a solid! BP was one of Obama's biggest contributors, the people of the Gulf, not so much.
Holder blatantly screwed over a million American victims of the spill to protect a criminal. Other than the sacrificial engineer who was caught deleting information relating to how much oil was spilling, the DOJ did the usual pay a fine instead of going after anyone at the top who made the decisions to cut corners and cause the spill. If you think the O.J. Simpson trial showed how money can trump Justice, you haven't seen how Wall Street and BP, among others, can buy their way out of their crimes at drastically reduced costs!

Screw Eric Holder!

[Fred Sanders]

65. If you loved AG Holder so much you will love AG Cruz under Jeb. I know the true enemy.

[Marr]

76. Christ, what a vapid response.

'You must be for Sarah Palin' was old about a week after apologists started using it.

[Fred Sanders]

77. Look up "vapid". It is not what you think it means. See post # 4 for an actual example.

[Marr]

78. You didn't even read the article.

For what it's worth, I know very well what "vapid" means. You pretty much hit the maximum score downthread, with your rebuttal concerning the proper use of the word "whom", but all of your empty defenses here have fit that description.

Hey, apologists have stuck their heads in the sand for this long-- no one really expects you to acknowledge the more or less flat statement here that you've been punked. He's returning to a Wall Street firm where he used to represent the big banks-- a firm where they very literally kept his office warm for him-- and they're going to pay him more than ever; millions and millions of dollars-- to do pro-bono work, lmao.

[merrily]

95. Are you sure?

vap·id (văp?ĭd, vā?pĭd)
adj.
1. Lacking liveliness, animation, or interest; dull: vapid conversation.
2. Lacking taste, zest, or flavor; flat: vapid beer.
[Latin vapidus.]
va·pid?i·ty, vap?id·ness n.
vap?id·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
vapid (ˈvæpɪd)
adj
1. bereft of strength, sharpness, flavour, etc; flat
2. boring or dull; lifeless: vapid talk.
[C17: from Latin vapidus; related to vappa tasteless or flat wine, and perhaps to vapor warmth]
vaˈpidity n ˈvapidly adv ˈvapidness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003
vap•id (ˈvæp ɪd)

adj.
1. lacking spirit or interest; dull: vapid conversation.
2. lacking sharpness or flavor.
[1650–60; < Latin vapidus; akin to vapor]
va•pid?i•ty, vap?id•ness, n.
vap?id•ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Adj. 1. vapid - lacking taste or flavor or tangvapid - lacking taste or flavor or tang; "a bland diet"; "insipid hospital food"; "flavorless supermarket tomatoes"; "vapid beer"; "vapid tea"
flavorless, flavourless, insipid, savorless, savourless, bland, flat
tasteless - lacking flavor
2. vapid - lacking significance or liveliness or spirit or zestvapid - lacking significance or liveliness or spirit or zest; "a vapid conversation"; "a vapid smile"; "a bunch of vapid schoolgirls"
unexciting, unstimulating - not stimulating
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
vapid
adjective dull, boring, insipid, flat, weak, limp, tame, bland, uninspiring, colourless, uninteresting, wishy-washy (informal) the minister's young and rather vapid wife
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
vapidadjective
Lacking the qualities requisite for spiritedness and originality:
bland, innocuous, insipid, jejune, namby-pamby, washy, waterish, watery.
Informal: wishy-washy.


http://www.thefreedictionary.com/vapid

[bvar22]

125. Marr used the word perfectly.

Somebody else needs to do some studying (or at least check definitions) before attacking other members of DU.
THAT is embarrassing.

[merrily]

154. I noticed three "corrections" he made on this thread. He was mistaken.

If I feel I have a really strong reason to correct a poster on grammar, spelling or usage, I send the gentlest pm I can. I did so when the poster said he was doing a paper for college on the subject of his post and I felt the error might show up in his college paper, too. That may have been the only time. Otherwise, if I get what the poster is saying, it's enough for me.

The other exception, of course, is when a DUer "corrects" another poster, but the correction is wrong. Then I feel I must speak up.

[frylock]

89. Conservatives just love to draw on fear, don't they?

[pocoloco]

107. We will surely find out if we nominate Hillary!!

[bvar22]

126. Yes we will!

...just like we found out about Bill Clinton and President Obama.

[hifiguy]

147. That isn't even worthy of a substantive reply.

[hifiguy]

106. Don't you DARE start bringing up facts.

All you will do is confuse the sheeple. Can't have that now.

Right on, Dustlawyer!

[pa28]

137. Holder was the perfect AG for this administration.

He seemed to invent a different category for DOJ enforcement when it came to major capital interests. Something like third way policy thinking applied to the law.

[frylock]

87. You should learn to prioritize your indignation.

[merrily]

97. Seriously. Attack a fellow poster over nothing, defend to the death a professional politician

who will never see your post anyway.

It's a DU thing, apparently.

[Marr]

74. +1

[Ed Suspicious]

5. He's not done with his public interest work, although I wish he was. I hate wondering which ones

are the crooks and criminals.

"Just because I'm at Covington doesn't mean I will abandon the public interest work," he told CNN. He added to the National Law Review that a big part of the reason he was going back to private practice was because he wanted to give back to the community."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/eric-holder-wall-street-double-agent-comes-in-from-the-cold-20150708#ixzz3fLQcq62x
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

[think]

6. A must read /nt

[Fred Sanders]

7. Leaving a law firm for political service and then returning to same said law firm is "cashing in"?

Note to self: Send new definition to Websters.

[Ed Suspicious]

14. .

[rpannier]

16. Actually it is

One only need to look at Nuclear Energy in Japan to see how seamlessly it works
People from one industry go to work for the national government for a few years, are involved in the rules and regulations and then return back to their old jobs, having written rules, enforced/gutted regulations to the benefit of their industry, etc

Though not illegal and not necessarily unethical, but suspicious, is that the firm he worked for and went back to, a firm the represented many of the banks and other financial institutions, left his office vacant as if they expected him to return
HSBC laundered money for drug cartels, like the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, and yet the Justice Department supported and helped HSBC keep their charter and not one of their executives went to jail, nor did one executive have to personally pay a fine.
Not a bad deal, help a murderous drug cartel launder over 800 million dollars and keep all your personal money and not spend a day in jail.
Hell, they weren't even prosecuted criminally
In case you have forgotten, the Sinaloa Cartel, they were well ahead of ISIS in putting out videos of torturing, murdering and decapitating people

The Justice Department also allowed the banks to write off the fines and settlements as business expenses.
They made deals that were designed to keep judges from signing off on them because judges refused to sign off on the sweet deals the financial community were getting (http://www.law360.com/articles/451452/2nd-circ-vacates-rakoff-decision-nixing-sec-citigroup-pact)
AJ Lynch has thrown out the agreement Holder made with UBS because the Justice Department had found it to be too favorable to UBS and Holder refused to toughen the penalties

There are short term and long term ways to cash in.
Reading his article and having observed how Japanese Nuclear Industry works and how business colludes in South Korea. It's not unreasonable for Taibbi to make the claim

[merrily]

98. He got that job in the first instance after public service in the Clinton administration and

elsewhere.

[onenote]

17. +1

All sorts of silly going on here, including all the gnashing of teeth about an office being illegally held open for Holder during his absence. That would be a neat trick, since Covington moved into new offices in December -- after Holder announced his resignation. (And according to lawyers I know at Covington, there are several plum offices unoccupied in the new space, which was designed to accomodate further growth (the firm has 1000 lawyers in DC and its office takes up over 400,000 square feet in two towers -- that's a lot of "corner' offices.

[think]

18. HSBC bank laundered money for "guys who chop peoples' heads off with chainsaws"

From Taibbi's article:

When asked about this in testimony before the Senate, Holder told elected officials he was concerned harsher penalties against firms like HSBC would "have a negative impact on the national economy," and that this "has an inhibiting influence…on our ability to bring resolutions that I think would be more appropriate."

This bank was laundering money for a drug cartel that made torture videos like ISIS and are just across the boarder from the US. I won't link to the torture video but the link is available in Taibbi's article.

In another case Chase bank was allowed to write off billions in fines as business expense. Kind of says it all.....

And who can forget when Eric Holder; before joining the Obama team; represented Chiquita and got them off with a fine for their payments to a paramilitary group who killed union activists in Columbia

Lawyer for Chiquita in Colombia Death Squad Case May be Next U.S. Attorney General

Dan Kovalik - A Human and labor rights lawyer - Posted: 12/07/2008 5:12 am EST

Read Dan Kovalik's original post from 11/6/08, below:

In its recent report entitled, "Breaking the Grip? Obstacles to Justice for Paramilitary Mafias in Colombia," Human Rights Watch (HRW) had specific recommendations for the U.S. Department of Justice. Specifically, HRW recommended that, in order to assist with the process of ending the ties between the Colombian government and paramilitary death squads, the U.S. Department of Justice should, among other things, "create meaningful legal incentives for paramilitary leaders a number of whom have already been extradited to the U.S. to fully disclose information about atrocities and name all Colombian or foreign officials, business or individuals who may have facilitated their criminal activities," and "collaborate actively with the efforts of Colombian justice officials who are investigating paramilitary networks in Colombia by sharing relevant information possible and granting them access to paramilitary leaders in U.S. custody."

Do not expect these recommendations to be carried forward if Eric Holder decides to forgo his lucrative corporate law practice at Covington & Burling and accept the U.S. Attorney General position for which many believe he is the top contendor. Eric Holder would have a troubling conflict of interest in carrying out this work in light of his current work as defense lawyer for Chiquita Brands international in a case in which Colombian plaintiffs seek damages for the murders carried out by the AUC paramilitaries - a designated terrorist organization. Chiquita has already admitted in a criminal case that it paid the AUC around $1.7 million in a 7-year period and that it further provided the AUC with a cache of machine guns as well.

~Snip~

According to Mario Iguaran, the Attorney General of Colombia, Chiquita's payments to the AUC paramilitaries led to the murder of 4000 civilians in the banana region of Colombia and furthered the growth of the paramilitaries throughout Colombia and their violent takeover of numerous Colombian regions. Iguaran, in response to the claims of both Chiquita and Eric Holder himself that Chiquita was somehow forced to pay "protection" to the paramilitaries (see, Washington Post and Conde Nast Portfolio), stated unequivocally that "[t]his was not payment of extortion money. It was support for an illegal armed group whose methods included murder." See, Christian Science Monitor, "Chiquita Case Puts Big Firms on Notice."

One former paramilitary leader who is in federal custody in the U.S., Salvatore Mancuso, has stated that he has more knowledge about Chiquita's relationship with the paramilitary death squads in Colombia. Mancuso further claims that Dole and Del Monte also made payments to the paramilitaries, just as Chiquita did. Yet, Dole and Del Monte remain un-indicted. Query whether, as Human Rights Watch recommends, a Justice Department under Holder would be interested in pursuing this and other similar leads. This is a serious matter given the fact that the Justice Department has already come under great scrutiny for turning a blind eye to what appears to be rampant corporate support for terrorist groups in Colombia. See, L.A. Times, "U.S. accused of bending rules on Colombian Terror."

Full article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-kovalik/lawyer-for-chiquita-in-co_b_141919.html

[dreamnightwind]

53. +1

[raouldukelives]

81. And that is just what we know.

Sad that people will spend the one life they are granted profiting from making others lives unsurvivable and then claiming to be decent human beings.

[creeksneakers2]

36. I wondered about that too

Lots of legitimate complaints in the article but if he went back to his old job after leaving government service he's no better off that he was went he went in. He's even worse off because he skipped $2.5 million a year for all those years.

[HomerRamone]

38. He will now be paid for preventing prosecution of their clients nt

[creeksneakers2]

39. He was already had the same job at that firm

He isn't getting anything extra for anything.

[HomerRamone]

40. The firm will do better, he'll do better

It was part of the job and he did it

[Fred Sanders]

41. Gave up a lucrative multi-million dollar a year job to take a 200K a year high stress government job....he is the devil!

[rhett o rick]

46. You make a good point even though I doubt you know it. So why would he give up a high paying

job for a low paying government job? Is it because he is altruistic and really want's to help the American people, or is it that he would use his low paying job to save billions for the wealthy so they can pay him back when the revolving door swings him back to work for them. This is the lowest form of graft. People are dying because they can't eat good food, or find housing or get decent medical attention. Yet you support this corrupt politician that supports the wealthy at the expense of the poor.

This is a class war? Whose side are you on? Holder is on the side of the 1%.

[ProfessorPlum]

63. well fucking said

thanks for cutting through the BS

[City Lights]

66. Excellent post!

[snagglepuss]

88. This ought to be an OP.

Absolutely bang on.

[rhett o rick]

118. Thanks for the support. nm

[bvar22]

131. DURec for rhett o rick (Reply #46)!

Well Done!

[Unknown Beatle]

151. Excellent point!

Spot on.

[merrily]

80. Yes, but he got his "old job" to begin with after being in goverment service.

And he will make much more in his old job than he used to because he's done more government service.

Classic revolving door profile.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Holder

[hobbit709]

56. Said law firm's main clientele is who?

[Fred Sanders]

69. "Is whom". You love AG Holder, you gonna love AG Cruz. I see the enemy, you choose not to.

[truebrit71]

70. ROFLMAO!!!

Yup, you see the enemy.....

[merrily]

103. Well, he sees some of the enemies, anyway.

However, it's the pretense and/or delusion that they are all Republicans and only Republican that is the most dangerous to the 99%.

[hobbit709]

71. I know who the enemy is. The question is which side are you on?

As far as I care the banksters and their apologists need to be shortened.

[Fred Sanders]

72. Insist on perfection, you make an enemy of the good. You have chosen your enemies, I, mine.

Back to my point - returning to your old job after years of public service and making it something, something scandal, reasons, reasons...is a red herring...some folks just love to swallow things whole.

[hobbit709]

73. Perfection? That's the funniest thing I've been accused of in a long time.

I've paid the price more than once for not kissing the ass of the power structure.
But I can face myself in the mirror in the morning.

[Fred Sanders]

75. Holder has no items in his "I was perfect" list, but a lot of very good ones...you would think the

cons would have loved AG Holder - if even some of this post-mortem vitriol was justified, am I right?

Did they? Who in the real enemy camp showed anything but hate and contempt for the man?

Et tu, Brutus?

Amnesia is a con thing, it is not good on a liberal.

[LondonReign2]

112. Republicans reflexively and mindlessly hate anything done with a D after their name

even when they are promoting right wing ideas. Case in point: Heritage Foundation Care

[xocet]

127. You might want to use the vocative ending, not the nominative one. "Et tu, Brutus! (sic: Brute!)"

Also, why do you claim that the earlier subjective pronoun ("is who&quot would need to be made into an objective pronoun ("is whom&quot ? Are you claiming that "is..." is a transitive verb in that instance (and, thus, has an object) instead of "is..." merely being a copula to a predicate nominative?

Inquiring minds....

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

140. I predict crickets......... Pretty

ignorant crickets at that.

[JDPriestly]

144. Perfectionists abolished slavery in our country, fought and won the right to organize in the

workplace, the 40 hour week, Social Security, Medicare, and many other great social reforms.

Those who did not insist on perfection since 1980, those who accepted good enough and did not insist on the best, on perfection won in the Democratic Party and we have actually lost ground when it comes to the rights and programs I listed.

Compromise, that is, accepting "the good," rather than struggling toward perfection has been proven to be a big mistake.

We have given up too much ground when it comes to the rights of working people and the middle class in America. It's time to demand a little perfection.

[hifiguy]

146. Damn tootin!

It's getting way too hot in this handbasket to settle for so-called Democrats who give away the whole loaf and tell us the stale heel is a great victory.

[merrily]

82. No. Who. It's a predicate nominative, in the nominative case, not the objective case.

If if you were to flip the sentence around, you would not say "Whom is the firm's clientele?"

[frylock]

90. Thanks, Professor.

[HomerRamone]

109. So no matter HOW bad a Dem is, you shouldn't complain because the only alternative is a Republican

How about cleaning up THIS party?

[Fred Sanders]

110. Wow, impressive strawman you built there! Can I help you tear it down, please??

[merrily]

99. On the firm overview page: (link to) "Covington professionals with government service experience"

https://www.cov.com/en/about-the-firm/firm-overview

What Covington is selling to clients and prospective clients could not be more clear.

[hobbit709]

100. To anyone not blinded by their adoring worship of the status quo.

[merrily]

101. Why posters post as they do is something I can only speculate about.

I would not attribute blindness to anyone. Or a motive like adoration.

[rhett o rick]

117. Are you pretending you don't know to insinuate a point? Just tell us your

point. Here's my point. Holder used his time in office to protect his friends on Wall Street. He will be rewarded.

And yes I am bitter. I am bitter because he used taxpayer money and resources to clamp down on medical marijuana use, even when it was apparent that the nation was moving toward being more lenient on marijuana, and even in states that had made it legal. He had to prosecute someone so he prosecuted the 99% and gave the 1% a pass.

Maybe a little graft is ok with some if it's by Democrats, but not to me. They should be held to an even higher standard than republicons.

So, what was your point?

[hobbit709]

119. My point is that I'm not surprised by said revolving door.

And the banksters should have been shortened, not just jailed.

[truebrit71]

67. Typical...

Just, typical....

[merrily]

83. Yep.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6956214

[Fred Sanders]

84. You have also used "classic" wrongly.

[merrily]

85. Nope, not at all. (Also?)

12.
an author or a literary work of the first rank, especially one of demonstrably enduring quality.
13.
an author or literary work of ancient Greece or Rome.
14.
classics, the literature and languages of ancient Greece and Rome (often preceded by the).
15.
an artist or artistic production considered a standard.
16.
a work that is honored as definitive in its field:
His handbook on mushrooms is a classic.
17.
something noteworthy of its kind and worth remembering:
His reply was a classic.
18.
an article, as of clothing, unchanging in style:
Her suit was a simple classic.

It's akin to archetypal (or archtypical, as some say).

[truebrit71]

116. Jeez, you can't even get that right...

[bvar22]

134. Sad really.

Maybe a break from DU would help.

[Doctor_J]

8. He and Duncan are a disgrace

Although the entire crew are an embarrassment to real dems

[bigwillq]

19. Like GWB, Obama surrounded himself with bad people

Imo

[FiveGoodMen]

30. And what kind of person does that?

[OnyxCollie]

35. Holder surrounded himself with bad people, too.

An Investigation of Allegations of Politicized Hiring by Monica Goodling and Other Staff in the Office of the Attorney General
(U.S. Dept. of Justice)

Finally, we found that in a separate example of political screening, Goodling contacted Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis to inquire about Ohlson, who was being considered for the position of EOIR Director, after Rooney had announced his retirement in February 2007. According to Margolis, Goodling asked: “As to your friend Kevin Ohlson, can you tell me whether he’s a D or an R?” Margolis told us that he told Goodling that Ohlson was a career Department attorney, but that he may have been more “politically attuned” to Republicans than to Democrats. (p. 112)

For Sampson, Hiring At DOJ Was All Republicans All The Times
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/img-src-http-talkingpointsmemo…ign-left-for-sampson-hiring-at-doj-was-all-republicans-all-the-times

Also, Sampson often called over to the White House personnel office seeking "ideas for immigration judge postings." Sampson told a staffer to "contact the White House to get any candidate ideas that they had for immigration judges".

In one case, Sampson pushed a prospective judicial candidate who was supported by White House political director Karl Rove.

Regarding that candidate, whose name was not disclosed, Kevin Ohlson, then deputy director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, told the IG's investigators that he was "fully aware of the fact" that Sampson was pushing Rove's pick and that was affecting the formal evaluation.

"The finger was on the scale," Ohlson said.

That candidate was ultimately appointed to be an immigration judge in October 2005, the report said.

Former Holder Chief of Staff to Lead New Misconduct Unit
http://www.mainjustice.com/2011/01/18/former-holder-chief-of-staff-to-lead-new-misconduct-unit/print/

Attorney General Eric Holder announced Tuesday he has appointed one of his most trusted associates to head a new unit that will deal with disciplinary actions against career attorneys.

Kevin Ohlson will bring “high standards of professionalism and integrity” to his position at the new Professional Misconduct Review Unit., Holder said in a statement [1]. Ohlson was [2] Holder’s Chief of Staff and Counselor from February 2009 until this week. He also served as Holder’s spokesman in the 1990s, when Holder was the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

The new unit will handle disciplinary action stemming from Office of Professional Responsibility findings, in which intentional or reckless professional misconduct is alleged. The unit will decide whether evidence and the law back those OPR discoveries. It will also take over from OPR the responsibility for deciding whether the misconduct merits referral to the prosecutor’s state bar association for discipline.

OPR will continue to send discoveries of mistakes and bad judgment to the relevant U.S. Attorney through the Executive Office for United States Attorneys or the DOJ component chief

Seems to be a pattern...

[Uncle Joe]

9. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, HomerRamone.

[pa28]

10. He told us banks were too big and too difficult to prosecute.

I seem to recall one of the rationalizations for hiring him the first place was the fact he specialized in defending them. That meant he could turn around and prosecute them more effectively.

We got a similar pitch selling the army of bankers, lobbyists and industry executives chosen by the administration to lead our regulatory agencies.

[jakeXT]

52. Eric Holder Admits Some Banks Are Just Too Big To Prosecute

When the Attorney General of the United States admits some banks are simply too big to prosecute, it might be time to admit we have a problem -- and that goes for both the financial and justice systems.

Eric Holder made this rather startling confession in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, The Hill reports. It could be a key moment in the debate over whether to do something about the size and complexity of our biggest banks, which have only gotten bigger and more systemically important since the financial crisis.

"I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if you do prosecute, if you do bring a criminal charge, it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy," Holder said, according to The Hill. "And I think that is a function of the fact that some of these institutions have become too large."

Holder's comments don't come as a total surprise. His underlings had already made similar confessions to The New York Times last year, after they declined to prosecute HSBC for flagrant, years-long violations of money-laundering laws, out of fear that doing so would hurt the global economy. Lanny Breuer, formerly in charge of doling out the Justice Department's wrist slaps to banks, told Frontline as much in the documentary "The Untouchables," which aired in January.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/eric-holder-banks-too-big_n_2821741.html

[merrily]

102. Too big for the United States of America to prosecute? Really?

It takes just as much work to allege and prove fraud against a tiny bank as it does against a huge bank. It's mostly a question of adding or subtraction zeroes, as in "said bank defrauded investors out of $10000 (or $100,000,000). Sure, the big bank can afford the lawyers who will drag out the case some, but we are talking the Department of Justice of the United States of America and all its staff. If you are too big to prosecuted by the D of J, that's even bigger than being allegedly too big to fail. Either of those "too bigs" should mean you are too big to exist.

[ybbor]

11. Gee, I wonder why he didn't want to prosecute any of the banksters?

Oh, right.

[Jack Rabbit]

12. $2.5 million

Talk about a high-priced prostitute.

[bvar22]

129. Yeah...I didn't think he was 1/2 that cute.

He must have had some unusual techniques.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

13. K&FuckinR. nt

[G_j]

15. Like clockwork...

[GoneFishin]

21. Holder is a disgrace.

[Stevepol]

22. Timothy Geithner has been doing quite well too I imagine.

[merrily]

104. Hanky Panky Bernanke as well. Public "servants" all. A yup.

[CanonRay]

23. Agree 100%

It was always my contention that he was probably the worst AG appointed by a Democrat. Now we know why. This is nothing but legalized bribery. Any wonder people are disgusted in this country.

[nc4bo]

26. Well bless his heart.

But no one is surprised with more of the same.

[Historic NY]

27. Apparently his former employer does do pro buono work

Since its founding over 90 years ago, Covington has had a strong commitment to public service. Over the years, the firm has received recognition both nationally and locally for its contributions to the legal needs of persons and organizations of limited means.

Much of Covington’s pro bono work reflects the firm's commitment to providing legal services to economically disadvantaged individuals and families in our surrounding communities. Our six-month rotation program reflects this commitment by allowing lawyers and staff to work at each of three DC-based legal service organizations -- Neighborhood Legal Services Program, the Children’s Law Center, and Bread for the City. Covington pioneered the loaned associate model over 45 years ago. Since its start in 1969, nearly 300 lawyers have participated in the program.


<Law360 designated Covington as a 2014 Pro Bono Firm of the Year, noting that the firm has worked on “some of the year's most pressing civil-rights litigation, including landmark challenges to New York City's stop-and-frisk policing and an Arizona county's targeting of Latino drivers under Sheriff Joe Arpaio.” Law360 previously named Covington as a Pro Bono Firm of the Year in 2010 and 2012, and 2013. >

Go to the link the firm has a major history....yeah I know people have sad but ck it out.


https://www.cov.com/en/probono

[dreamnightwind]

54. They're not paying him $2.5 million per year to do pro-bono work - eom

[brentspeak]

59. Exactly. n/t

[heaven05]

28. depressing and revolting

yet is typical of the current ameri$$can political system. Many are doing or have done the same thing. Reform of the political system is one more problem that has to be solved so that all americans have an equal chance at survival. This rich get richer shit is getting disgusting.

[merrily]

105. ....

[Omaha Steve]

29. K&R!

[wilt the stilt]

31. I work with the top lawyers

and they are mercenaries. Did you all know that the op SEC and DOJ guys eventually become white collar attorneys and prosecutors become defense attorneys. This is what they do. Holder is no different that the entire industry.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

32. "...like announcing that he's going back to get a doctorate at the University of Blow Me."

[Babel_17]

33. That's got to sting

Taibbi has credibility with people that can get their voices heard if Taibbi's credibility or relevance is attacked. Influential Democrats, to put it another way.

[George II]

34. Did everyone here expect him to open a lemonade stand?

[Fred Sanders]

42. Apparently leaving your very good job to take up public office/service and then returning is evil incarnate!

Is the conflation with "revolving door" politicians cum lobbyists on purpose, or are folks just pretending what Holder has done - returning to work with his former law firm - and what politicians who go on to sit on Boards of corporations they just finished regulating, and had zero prior connection with, are really the same thing?

The disconnect is an awesome example of tunnel vision.

[think]

43. How do you feel about a bank laundering money for a Mexican cartel that makes beheading videos?

These are the guys the HSBC bank was laundering money for and Holder chose not to impose any jail time or fines.

~Snip~

This is from a description of HSBC's crimes by Holder's Justice Department:

"As a result of HSBC Bank USA's AML failures, at least $881 million in drug trafficking proceeds – including proceeds of drug trafficking by the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico…were laundered through HSBC Bank USA."

You might remember the Sinaloa cartel for their ISIS-style, unforgettably upsetting torture videos. HSBC washed their cash. They even created special teller windows to make their deposits easier. This is admitted, not alleged.

But Holder went out of his way to let them keep their U.S. charter. He gave their executives a grand total of zero days in jail, zero dollars in individual fines.

To reiterate: HSBC laundered money for guys who chop peoples' heads off with chainsaws. So we can dispense with the "but no one broke any laws" thing.

When asked about this in testimony before the Senate, Holder told elected officials he was concerned harsher penalties against firms like HSBC would "have a negative impact on the national economy," and that this "has an inhibiting influence…on our ability to bring resolutions that I think would be more appropriate."


~Snip~

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/eric-holder-wall-street-double-agent-comes-in-from-the-cold-20150708#ixzz3fMK0JYTD

[Fred Sanders]

48. Strawman. I do not play with strawmen.

Where is the problem with Holder returning to his old law firm??

That is the relevant question no one will answer.

[think]

50. His law firm represents some of the banks mentioned in the article in case you missed that part.

But apparently conflicts of interests don't matter when banks are concerned...

[truebrit71]

68. He clearly didn't read the article...

...

[rhett o rick]

47. It's corruption at it's worst and yet you think it's cute. He was hired by us to prosecute crooked

banksters, but he prosecutes medical marijuana users instead. He turns out to be as crooked as the banksters.

[clg311]

37. Hopefully President Sanders...

Will prosecute him.

[KansDem]

92. I'll drink to that!

[AzDar]

45. ...

[PatrickforO]

49. Well, Eric snagged a good job. Some might, indeed would call it a payoff.

Which is why we need a populist who cares about us and our needs instead of the needs of banks as our next POTUS.

Since we're on general discussion here, this person shall remain nameless...gee, wonder who it could be?

[Enthusiast]

55. Kicked and recommended to the absolute Max!

Wall Street Double Agent [URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL] [URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[Romulox]

58. I can't wait until Hillary comes in and cleans up all this corruption and graft!

[frylock]

93. It's her turn to clean up corruption and graft.

[Marr]

132. lol! Perfectly stated. /nt

[Maedhros]

136. It's her turn to Look Forward, Not Backward...

Upward, not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

[frylock]

138. Hey, don't blame me..

I voted for Kodos.

[hifiguy]

108. I can fix that for you.

Just substitute "benefits from" for "cleans up." Thank you.

[raindaddy]

61. "Just because I'm at Covington doesn't mean I will abandon the public interest work." -Eric Holder

He must think we're complete idiots!!!

[truebluegreen]

94. Implies that he has been doing "public interest work" doesn't it?

Not.

[fredamae]

79. I wonder what the Rest

of Obama's "former" aides/staff/agency heads are doing now, as well.

Holder...No Surprise. So predictable in fact, the surprise would have been that he Didn't take a job...just like this, imo.

[Oilwellian]

86. The corruption is in our face now

Who needs to hide it when the head of our justice department is covering up the crimes and in on the take?

[kacekwl]

96. Another reason to vote for Bernie

I put all my faith in Obama thinking foolishly he had my back. I truly believe Bernie dose and may be our last chance to curtail this kind of shit. I'm praying my support and intuition don't fail me again.

[WillyT]

111. K & R !!!

[AZ Progressive]

113. Let me remind everyone that people went to prison for corporate scandals long ago...

The Enron scandal and the savings and loan scandal primarily. There's nothing usual about corporate executives getting away with massive crimes.

Just look at this list of the top 10 CEO's sent to prison:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/18/top-10-ceos-sent-to-prison_n_1527361.html


Is there any coincidence that everyone on this list was convicted before the Obama Administration? Why did these guys get prosecuted and not the CEO's of the big banks?

[AZ Progressive]

115. What do you do when DC is full of people seeking to milk the govt for career advancing purposes?

And I mean the politicians of course. A lot of the politicians there are there to make themselves look good for the corporations so that they can be rewarded when they complete doing their bidding.

These are the consequences of a culture that embraces greed. Greed is the ultimate corruptor.

Whether or not you believe in the bible or in the Christian God, the bible did frequently warn people about greed.

[lark]

120. Trojan horse president hires protectors of the 1%,

no surprise there at all, totally consistent with most of his other hires. Blech!

[cascadiance]

121. And his buddy Rahm Emanuel hired them and dismisses us "f'ing retards"...

... for questioning the way they "do business" there now. And Emanuel probably has to have a record for the number of Democrats he personally put out as nominees that have since gone down in flame in elections since 2010. The corporatists just don't last long once people discover who they really are. It's too bad that in so many races the DCCC could have helped more potential progressive candidates instead of their corporate toadies!

[Rex]

123. Until we up end this plutocracy, expect more of the same. I wish Holder was a rarety.

However what he did, is business as usual and needs to stop ASAP. Then again we did nothing while Greenspan worked hard to make sure Wall Street was in charge and not Main Street.

[orpupilofnature57]

128. His Legacy will be the " Trojan Horse " president ! and the 1% still alive in a 100 yrs will adore

him, and kids will be taught how only those with " American Exceptionalism " survived, 2008 scanned over quickly as to not confuse the children .

[YOHABLO]

135. Nothing we can do about it. Whine? Vote Sanders and make a change.

[d_legendary1]

139. Holder was already a Wall Street Insider

Why should it surprise anyone that Holder would go back to doing what he used to do?

[colsohlibgal]

143. Holder Is The Attorney Equivalent Of Rubin And Other Wall Streeters

Yes, in a country not run by Plutocrats, Holder would be up for conflict of interest and gross dereliction of duty.

Hordes of big shots from Wall Street, including head honchos at the ratings agencies, should have seen jail time.

You cannot disguise toxic investments by wrapping them up in non toxic ones, somehow get an AAA rating (wink wink), then sell them to big investors like pension funds while shorting them with your other hand.

That's fraud and it's ruined or severely impacted many lives. Yet at worst they had to pay what for them was a chickenfeed fine while keeping all the loot they fraudulently made and the bailout we all paid for. Most of them didn't even have to admit any guilt.

Yet some, at least one dogged individual here, see no real harm. it just proves some have blinders on for their heroes.

[ymetca]

145. Sigh.. have to say it

"First kill all the lawyers..."

And, as long as we're casting aspersions on his asparagus:

How many corporate lawyers does it take to screw over the entire world?
Pick one, they've all lost their souls...

[cascadiance]

149. Mike Papantonio is a good guy though. We need to keep him!

[HomerRamone]

148. Subpoena Eric Holder's communication with his corporate law firm

http://act.credoaction.com/sign/subpoena_holder?sp_ref=131464585.4.14525.f.59596.3&referring_akid=.1097096.7lEko7&source=fb_share_sp

Did Covington & Burling make concrete promises to Holder while he was still serving as attorney general? Holding a corner office alone could constitute a violation of U.S. criminal code prohibiting “an arrangement concerning prospective employment.”...

Even if there is no smoking gun of criminal behavior, the mere fact that Holder will now make millions getting rich criminals off the hook is a revolting example of the revolving door. Covington & Burling represents JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, and nearly every other Wall Street titan. Disturbingly, the firm’s marketing materials include glowing references to Lanny Breuer. In Breuer's four years as head of the Justice Department's criminal division under Holder, he sent not a single banker to jail for crimes committed during the financial meltdown. In 2013, Breuer left the DOJ for a job at Covington where his salary was reported to start at around $4 million a year. The firm is notable for helping big banks find the legal justification for much of the rampant securitization that led to the financial crash and ensuing foreclosure fraud.

Covington & Burling has already brought on six of Holder’s colleagues from the Justice Department, including the former head of the criminal division who refused to investigate banks, and the firm reportedly views Holder as a “rainmaker” who will bring in new business. Holder himself recently said his role model is a former attorney general who used his position to became the first lawyer to charge $1,000 an hour. Even if Holder never shows up in court to represent his clients, he and Covington & Burling clearly plan to trade on expertise and insider connections to defend illegal behavior and rake in big bucks.

Holder’s new job is already a national disgrace. The least the leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees can do is make sure it isn’t criminal, as well.

Tell Congress: Subpoena former Attorney General Eric Holder's communications with his corporate law firm while serving as head of the Department of Justice.