From TPM Reader DB …
I haven’t seen this mentioned yet in any articles but what about the big banks (or any others receiving bailout money) lobbying while taking tax payer money. They are using public funds to pay for lobbying to increase their own interests and not necessarily those of the general public. Seems at least as bad if not worse than bonuses and executive pay.
Just a thought/question
From the AP …
Federal agents have raided the Memphis brokerage where state Senate Commerce Chairman Paul Stanley works, but the Germantown Republican says he’s not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Stanley is a wealth manager for broker-dealer Stanford Group Co. He said his assistant called him Tuesday morning to tell him federal agents were searching the offices.
For more on Sir Allen’s billions, see Zack Roth’s coverage at TPMmuckraker.com.
Does anyone think there’s currently a sellers’ market in bank executives and traders?
Is anyone else really curious to see what Roland Burris admits to tomorrow?
Things are heating up in the March 31 special election for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s vacant House seat, with the GOP having a real shot at picking up the seat. That and the day’s other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.
Sen. Roland Burris’ political position is becoming increasingly untenable: state criminal investigation, Senate ethics probe, and calls to resign, including from the Chicago Tribune.
Maybe Blago’s spectacular fall has skewed our sense of what a political flameout looks like. But by any usual standard, Burris is in deep, deep trouble.
As we look deeper into the Allen Stanford story and his alleged $8 billion fraud, his role spreading around money in Washington is becoming increasingly clear. A lot of it tied to his efforts to kill a bill back in 2001/2002 era bill that would have cracked down on offshore banks and money laundering. Elana Schor’s got part one of the story.
As she’ll explain in part two of the story, Stanford gave a huge amount of money to the Democrats — who then controlled the senate — to prevent the bill from ever coming to the floor.
Sir Allen Stanford may
be on the run today facing an $8 billion fraud charge. But back in the beginning of this decade he was pouring tons of money into Washington to help block a series of bills that would have created problems for his Antigua-based off-shore banking empire, which now appears to have been a massive fraud.
At the key time, Democrats controlled the Senate, where the key actions were going to take place. And Stanford poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Democratic coffers to help (successfully) deep six legislation he wanted killed.
Roland Burris is on TV giving
a speech defending himself against allegations he lied about his role in being solicited and then trying to help raise money for Rod Blagojevich to help get the senate seat. And it’s basically identical to a series of speeches Blago himself gave when he was swirling around the bowl: How dare you give me any crap for lying about that fundraising stuff when, my god, I just helped pass the Stimulus Bill, SCHIP and the Lily Ledbetter bill.
It’s almost like a homage to Blago. All he needs is a good Tennyson quote.