SEC Watchdog to probe SEC's Goldman Sachs lawsuit (credit, debt, mortgage)

[treasurekidd]

They want to find out why the SEC announced their fraud lawsuit against Goldman Sachs days before the Senate was to begin debate on Obama's financial reform proposals? Politics - DUH!


"SEC inspector general to review decision to sue."

WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's decision to sue Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) will be reviewed by the agency's internal watchdog.

"We need to understand what led to the decision to announce or bring the case on (April 16,)" SEC Inspector General David Kotz said on Friday on Fox News.

Some Republican lawmakers have implied political motives were behind the SEC's decision and timing of the fraud suit against Goldman.

The action was announced just days before the Senate was due to start formally debating a bill that would impose new rules on Wall Street.

The SEC has flatly denied that politics were part of their decision to accuse Goldman of misrepresenting a debt product tied to subprime mortgages.

"We've made clear we don't coordinate our enforcement actions with political organizations and look forward to cooperating with the inspector general's investigation," SEC spokesman John Nester said.

Sources have said the SEC split 3-2 in voting to take Goldman to court, with SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro siding with the agency's two Democratic commissioners.

Earlier on Friday, Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican, sent Kotz a letter asking him to probe the SEC's Goldman case.

Issa said the circumstances of the filing have fueled suspicion that the SEC or its employees may have "engaged in unauthorized disclosure" of the Goldman suit in order to influence the debate over financial regulatory legislation.

(Reporting by Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

UPDATE 1-Watchdog to probe SEC's Goldman lawsuit | Reuters

[texdav]

I thnik the biggest is the track record of the SEC and its need to divert attention from its own internal failures.The madoff case shows alevel of incompetitence that is harder to ignore. They bascially didn;t veen check after being warned to see that Madoff wasn't even trading. Its likely a case of wag the dog to keep the heat pointed in other directions.Congress of course having oversite on the agency isn't to excited about making heads roll for them to turn the tables on them.

[smokingGun]

The SEC and the Treasury is filled with former IB/private banking insiders that feel that Wall St. is god's gift to humanity. For years they've been allowed to wheel & deal with impunity & very little oversight because they feel they're the brightest & most talented & educated ppl who have graced this planet. It's this lack of hubris that overshadows everything in this whole sordid financial mess. They have little compunctions & no regrets on any of their contracts for credit default swaps or mortgage derivatives.

[floridasandy]

the last thing we need is financial "reform" that gives the federal reserve more power. the federal reserve is an international banking cartel that already answers to no one, has ZERO transparency, and isn't even audited.

that would be a big mistake.

[texdav]

Originally Posted by smokingGun

The SEC and the Treasury is filled with former IB/private banking insiders that feel that Wall St. is god's gift to humanity. For years they've been allowed to wheel & deal with impunity & very little oversight because they feel they're the brightest & most talented & educated ppl who have graced this planet. It's this lack of hubris that overshadows everything in this whole sordid financial mess. They have little compunctions & no regrets on any of their contracts for credit default swaps or mortgage derivatives.

I agree wit the guy that first discovered meadoof and testified to congress. The problem is that the SEC is full of incompetitent people with to little grey in their air and its not like to change until we pay for better people to protect us.Puppies don't make good watchdogs basically.

[floridasandy]

people need to be careful what they wish for. nate's economic edge had a good article today:


“The Game of the Century:” Bobby Fischer and the Queen Sacrifice

But capos typically are not sacrificed unless doing so would serve a Machiavellian purpose. So what would be the purpose of sacrificing Goldman? Well, in one of the more famous games in chess history, 13-year-old Bobby Fischer brilliantly pounced on his opponent and guaranteed victory by boldly sacrificing his queen on move 17. The queen is the most powerful chess piece. Average people would narrowly play a game defensively protecting their queen and assuming any chance to take your queen would lead to victory. But that elementary view would be precisely the weakness upon which a true chess mind, a Godfather, would prey. Beware of the bait being laid in front of you.

Goldman Sachs is very much analogous to a queen in the chess game being played by the ownership class—the richest pools of private capital controlled by multi-generational wealthy families that hover above countries via the central banking system. It has been one of the most potent pieces on the board for many years, its most recent attack being on the entire nation of Greece. But as the endgame comes into view, perhaps the most brilliant play to reach checkmate is now the queen sacrifice. Goldman employees had better be sending their resumes to JP Morgan Chase—a critical chess piece in the endgame that will be protected at all costs.


What is the end game? The ownership class is attempting to restructure the world under a new financial system. We have had a global currency for a long time—the US dollar—but it has run its course. Wall Street has leveraged up the dollar as far as possible. The dollar now holds most nations hostage thanks to the power of the bond market, the central banking system. The ownership class needs a new debt-based currency and banking structure to maintain control as they pump the capital engine through the 21st century. This is why the G20 is working feverishly to build up the IMF, BIS, and new global financial rules. This time the production center will be China rather than the US, which is why China and Japan are the most asset-rich countries in the world while the western world is the most indebted. The west is on track for decades of slow decline while Asia is on the verge of seeing “the rising sun.”

So unfortunately the government vs. Goldman Sachs story has nothing to do with reforming Wall Street in the interest of average Americans. Rather it is a strategic move to further the endgame of consolidating Wall Street power, focusing public rage on Goldman to protect JP Morgan Chase, fueling new regulations to clamp down on the smaller banks that we so desperately need, and creating a global structure even bigger than the already “too big to fail” banking system. This may be setting up one of the biggest, most successful queen sacrifices in history. We should take the queen by all means—Goldman is a predator. But heed the lesson from 13-year-old Bobby Fischer. Be wary of checkmate.