The revolving door in action

[c1ue]

I can't find the thread now - the one where Lanny Breuer earnestly said that there was nothing to be done in prosecuting this or that bankster scam.

Well, as expected, Mr. Breuer is now back on the other side...

http://www.cov.com/lbreuer/

Prior to his service at the Justice Department, Mr. Breuer co-chaired the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group. Over nearly 20 years in private practice, Mr. Breuer maintained a wide-ranging practice that included white collar criminal and complex civil litigation, internal corporate investigations, congressional investigations, and antitrust cartel proceedings

[don]

Re: The revolving door in action

at least this has been fixed . . . did I say fixed? I meant the fix was in . . . .

Congress Quietly 'Overhauls' Law Against Congressional Insider Trading

"Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live."

Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933

Who says that the Congress cannot act quickly and in a bipartisan manner in order to pass laws.

As I recall the original reform was called the STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act) Act. It was in response to the public outrage over a news story that exposed the insider trading business in Congress.

At the time the MF Global story was also breaking and there was concern that the people might lose confidence in the financial markets.

Well, the elections are over, and the law was about to take effect, so...

NPR
How Congress Quietly Overhauled Its Insider-Trading Law
by Tamara Keith
April 16, 2013


The legislative process on Capitol Hill is often slow and grinding. There are committee hearings, filibuster threats and hours of floor debate. But sometimes, when Congress really wants to get something done, it can move blindingly fast.

That's what happened when Congress moved to undo large parts of a popular law known as the STOCK Act last week.

A year ago, President Obama signed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act into law at a celebratory ceremony attended by a bipartisan cast of lawmakers.

"I want to thank all the members of Congress who came together and worked to get this done," he said.

The law wouldn't just outlaw trading on nonpublic information by members of Congress, the executive branch and their staffs. It would greatly expand financial disclosures and make all of the data searchable so insider trading and conflicts of interest would be easier to detect.

But on Monday, when the president signed a bill reversing big pieces of the law, the emailed announcement was one sentence long. There was no fanfare last week either, when the Senate and then the House passed the bill in largely empty chambers using a fast-track procedure known as unanimous consent.

In the House, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., shepherded the bill through. It was Friday afternoon at 12:52. Many members had already left for the weekend or were on their way out. The whole process took only 30 seconds. There was no debate...

Read the entire story and listen to the audio portion here.

Here is what DemocracyNow had to say:

Obama Signs Bill Gutting Transparency Provisions in Insider Trading Law

President Obama has signed into law a measure critics say guts key transparency provisions from a law designed to combat insider trading by members of Congress. The new bill repeals a requirement in the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act that high-level federal officials disclose financial information online.

But, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, it also removes requirements for the searchable and electronic filing of information related to potential conflicts of interest by the president, vice president, Congress and other officials.

On its website OpenSecrets.org, the Center wrote: "Without the provisions, the STOCK act is made toothless. Insider trading by members of Congress and federal employees is still prohibited, but the ability of watchdog groups to verify that Congress is following its own rules is severely limited because these records could still be filed on paper — an unacceptably outdated practice that limits the public’s access."

Here is a story on the same overhaul from The Hill.

Jonathan Weil also wrote a story on Bloomberg saying that all this concern over insider trading was overdone and that Chuck Grassley does not understand what he is talking about. I found it to be interesting.

I think this story may be relevant. Stock Surge Linked to Lobbyist

Washington is corrupt, and Obama is no reformer.

Jesse's Cafe Americain

[astonas]

Re: The revolving door in action

*sigh* Yep. When the foxes are set to guarding the henhouse, no embarrassing little law will stop the feast.

[don]

Re: The revolving door in action

Vampire Squid Capturing the Ship of State

[don]

Re: The revolving door in action

revolving door? one thing is certain, the TBTFs will be shakin' in their white shoes when Comey's investigations begin . . . right?

President Obama plans to nominate James B. Comey, a former hedge fund executive who served as a senior Justice Department official under President George W. Bush, to replace Robert S. Mueller III as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

[wayiwalk]

Re: The revolving door in action

He seems completely unqualified. Perfect.

Any critical agencies left that aren't headed by unqualified lawyers?

Can't wait until this is the case for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

[aaron]

Re: The revolving door in action

He seems completely unqualified. Perfect.

Any critical agencies left that aren't headed by unqualified lawyers?

Can't wait until this is the case for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Perhaps a lawyer would be an improvement. At least they like to win, and they typically only take one third of your money. How these generals can even face citizens after their pathetic performance over the past decade amazes me.

[TBBNF]

Re: The revolving door in action

KKR names former CIA head Petraeus as chairman of new institute


http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/30/us-kkr-petraeus-idUSBRE94T0D820130530

[Slimprofits]

Re: The revolving door in action

Nassim Taleb calling out Peter Orzag for his revolving door profiteering (Fannie Mae, Shittygroup)... https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/446245634593808384 https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/446250376279654401 https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/446285162717138944 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/..._lifestyle_pop

Peter Orszag @porszag 2h @nntaleb Happy for full debate on substance in person. Ad hominem twitter attacks are cowardly. 140 character limit too short for this. Reply Retweet Favorite Details Nassim N. Taleb @nntaleb .@porszag Exposing frausters is not "ad hominem". Read a book on logic then write public rebuttal. Man up.

[lektrode]

Re: The revolving door in action

this one ought to get interesting...

[Slimprofits]

Re: The revolving door in action

Could we effectively ban the revolving door with a law that is similar to a non-compete agreement?

[seobook]

Re: The revolving door in action

Could we effectively ban the revolving door with a law that is similar to a non-compete agreement?

who would vote to pass it? and what exemptions would be left in it? ;)

[Slimprofits]

Re: The revolving door in action

who would vote to pass it? and what exemptions would be left in it? ;)

Everyone and none.