The Untouchables: How the Obama administration protected Wall Street from prosecutions

A new PBS Frontline report examines a profound failure of justice that should be causing serious social unrest

• 
• • Glenn Greenwald
  • guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 23 January 2013 07.27 EST

Obama: bought and Paid for

Eric Holder talks to DOJ Criminal Chief Lanny Breuer in 2010. Photograph: Jason Reed/Reuters

PBS' Frontline program on Tuesday night broadcast a new one-hour report on one of the greatest and most shameful failings of the Obama administration: the lack of even a single arrest or prosecution of any senior Wall Street banker for the systemic fraud that precipitated the 2008 financial crisis: a crisis from which millions of people around the world are still suffering. What this program particularly demonstrated was that the Obama justice department, in particular the Chief of its Criminal Division, Lanny Breuer, never even tried to hold the high-level criminals accountable.

What Obama justice officials did instead is exactly what they did in the face of high-level Bush era crimes of torture and warrantless eavesdropping: namely, acted to protect the most powerful factions in the society in the face of overwhelming evidence of serious criminality. Indeed, financial elites were not only vested with immunity for their fraud, but thrived as a result of it, even as ordinary Americans continue to suffer the effects of that crisis.

Worst of all, Obama justice officials both shielded and feted these Wall Street oligarchs (who, just by the way, overwhelmingly supported Obama's 2008 presidential campaign) as they simultaneously prosecuted and imprisoned powerless Americans for far more trivial transgressions. As Harvard law professor Larry Lessig put it two weeks ago when expressing anger over the DOJ's persecution of Aaron Swartz: "we live in a world where the architects of the financial crisis regularly dine at the White House." (Indeed, as "The Untouchables" put it: while no senior Wall Street executives have been prosecuted, "many small mortgage brokers, loan appraisers and even home buyers" have been). (read more here)

Laura Ingraham Gets Serious With Cantor

It's another edition of 'Where's Cantor?' 

LIVE ON FOX, on the defense with Laura Ingraham tonight. CantorWON'T commit to ANYTHING! Wow, Congressman, looks like the American public doesn't fall in line with your institutionalized incrowd. Someone's really starting to ask the real questions now! You'd better loosen your collar if you're going to shake your head 'no' as fast as you can while saying 'yes'.

You think you're friends with the press? Well guess what -- patriotism runs deeper. I'll bet you're still shaking your head! AHA, HERE'S the reason you won't address your constituents or debate your opponents . . . because you can't fight the PATRIOT in US!

[[APPLAUSE for Laura Ingraham]]

The people seem to know what a REAL conservative sounds like. Stay tuned for the Bayne campaign, Congressman (http://www.floydbayne.com/).


HERE'S THE VIDEO --
WATCH, COMMENT, SHARE (then VOTE Floyd Bayne on November 2nd):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH9vt6zRGNg