More on Miscarriages of Justice

Trey Smith

The federal government and the nation’s biggest banks have reached yet another settlement in the Crime Of The Century – or, one of those crimes that are supposed to come around only once a century but seem to pop up every year or so nowadays, as finance capitalism rushes towards its final collapse. The $8.5 billion deal is the second settlement in what was called the robo-signing scandal, in which banksters took possession of homes whose mortgages they could not prove they actually owned.

If ever there were a capital corporate crime, this was it – a mega-theft so monstrously destructive it merited French Revolution-style justice, with hundreds of one-way trips to the guillotine. Instead, what we got was presidential intervention, during Obama’s last State of the Union address, when he announced that there would be a settlement with the states to avoid state prosecutions of the banks. The robo-signing investigation would pass into the gentle hands of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, whom the bankers had no reason to fear, and the states would divide up $25 billion, much of which would never reach victimized homeowners.

This week’s second settlement of the same scandal is a bizarre derivative of the first deal. The banks had agreed to hire outside consultants to pour through their books to determine how many homes had been unlawfully seized, loan modifications wrongfully denied, and fees improperly charged. By late last year, the consultants were nowhere near finished, when federal regulators called off the exercise, calling it hopeless and too expensive. So, the feds did what the government always does with Wall Street criminals. They settled, this time for $8.5 billion – while consumer advocates say the actual damage to homeowners was many times that.

It’s an educated guess that the independent auditors took so long sifting through the records because the banks’ books are vast crime scenes, covered in the life’s-blood of millions of consumers. Not the kind of treasure trove of criminal evidence that one should rush through, if one is seeking justice. However, what this administration seeks is not justice, but settlements that allow the banksters to pay a fine, stay out of jail, and get on with crime as usual.
~ from Wall Street's Untouchables by Glen Ford ~

I touched on this issue yesterday. I just find it so galling that, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary, Wall Street big wigs are allowed to walk free, no matter how heinous or widespread their crimes.

To put this in a better perspective, imagine how this might play out if local authorities treated rapists in the same manner.

There have been numerous rapes in your community over the course of the year. The local police chief declares that it his department's number one priority to figure out who is committing these horrible crimes and to arrest that person. After a long and thorough investigation, a suspect is picked up. It quickly becomes obvious that the police have apprehended the right person.

The District Attorney makes headlines about how his office will see to it that this person never rapes again. Yet, soon after making these headlines, the DA doesn't fight a defense motion to allow the suspect out on [minimal] bail. Once free, the suspect starts raping women again. Subsequently, he is rearrested, but is later freed on bail again. And he goes right back to raping more women.

After a huge public outcry, the man is arrested yet again. The DA says he will throw the proverbial book at him. However, before the alleged rapist ever sees the inside of a courtroom, the DA cuts a deal with him in which the alleged assailant agrees to pay a minimal fine without having to admit any guilt. All this fellow might say is that he admits he may have taken a few liberties with some, but not all, of the female victims.

Within a few days of his release, the spree of rapes begins anew.

Wouldn't this scenario make you outraged? If so, why aren't you outraged by the federal government's acquiescence that allows Wall Street firms the ability to rape taxpayers over and over and over again?