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June 14, 2007
Washington Post followup on Bush and Enron
Carrie Johnson of the Washington Post has a followup story Frank Critical of Bush on Suits discussing responses of House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) and others to the stunning news that the President's input had over-ridden the request of the independent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the U.S. file a Supreme Court brief in support of investors. "You've got the president making economic arguments," Frank said in an interview yesterday. "Those aren't legal arguments. . . . I think they're setting a bad precedent." [...] AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney yesterday called the administration's inaction "among the most outrageous events in the long and sordid history of the Enron scandal." The story also reports that a U.S. Chamber of Commerce PR operation with the academic sounding name "institute" is predictably urging the U.S. to file a pro-business brief. That would be a reversal of the SEC's expert position, which remains in favor of the right of investors to sue lawyers, accountants and investment bankers when they participate in schemes to defraud investors. It would be truly unfortunate if the president's meddling not only prevented the government from representing the SEC's view, as it already has, but led to the U.S. filing a brief arguing against the SEC's long-standing but now-muzzled view that private enforcement helps ensure investor confidence in the markets. Small investors need to know that when Wall Street bankers, accountants and lawyers join schemes, that they will be punished.
Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at June 14, 2007 06:27 AM
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