GOP seeks SEC records on Goldman Sachs

rnc-logoIt’s not coincidence that Goldman Sachs gave 75% of its political donations, or nearly $4.5 million to Democrats in 2008, and nearly $1 million to Obama alone. It’s also no coincidence that as the Marxistcrats try and take over Wall Street, they announced the corruption of Goldman Sachs to be their sacrificial lamb. So according to Politico, Rep. Darrell Issa of California, top Republican on the House oversight committee, plans to send a letter Tuesday demanding a slew of documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission, asserting that Friday’s fraud filing against Goldman Sachs raises “serious questions about the Commission’s independence and impartiality.”

Issa’s letter, addressed to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro and signed by eight other House Republicans, demands to know if the commission had any contact about the case, prior to its public release, with White House aides, Democratic Party committee officials, or members of Congress or their aides.

“[W]e are concerned that politics have unduly influenced the decision and timing of the Commission’s controversial enforcement action against Goldman,” Issa writes, saying President Barack Obama’s push on Wall Street reform “neatly coincided with the Commission’s announcement of the suit.”

The letter is also signed by Republican Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Jason Chaffetz of Utah, Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, Dan Burton of Indiana, John Mica of Florida, Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri, Aaron Schock of Illinois and Anh “Joseph” Cao of Louisiana.

POLITICO has asked the SEC for comment, and will add it when it arrives.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said at Monday’s briefing: “The SEC doesn’t notify the White House of its enforcement actions and certainly didn’t do so in this case. … [I]t’s not as if the President began talking about financial reform sometime on Friday afternoon.”

And White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel told Charlie Rose on Monday: “[E]verybody at the White House found out like everybody else, when it hit the news. … Nobody at the White House knew anything ahead of anybody else. … I think what’s more important is not this particular case or what SEC did. The need for this reform has existed for over a year.”

The 1,000-word letter, with 11 footnotes, also demands: “Identify all known communications by any Commission employee or employees with The New York Times or other news outlets prior to the Commission’s public announcement of the suit. If you are unaware of any such communications, please certify as such and explain what steps the Commission has taken to identify any individual(s) who may have engaged in unauthorized disclosure of information.”

“The Goldman litigation … has been widely cited by Democrats in support of the financial regulatory legislation currently before the United States Senate,” Issa writes. “The American people have a right to know whether the Commission, or any of its officers or employees, may have violated federal law by using the resources of an independent regulatory agency to promote a partisan political agenda. …

“[T]he events of the past five days have fueled legitimate suspicion on the part of the American people that the Commission has attempted to assist the White House, the Democratic Party, and Congressional Democrats by timing the suit to coincide with the Senate’s consideration of financial regulatory legislation, or by providing Democrats with advance notice.”

Here is the text of the letter:

April 20, 2010

The Honorable Mary Schapiro

Chairman

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

00 F Street Northeast

Washington, D.C. 20549

Dear Chairman Schapiro:

The timing of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) filing of a civil securities fraud action against Goldman Sachs & Co. (“Goldman”) has created serious questions about the Commission’s independence and impartiality. The Goldman litigation – filed by the Commission on Friday, April 16, 2010 – has been widely cited by Democrats in support of the financial regulatory legislation currently before the United States Senate. We are writing to request that you provide documents and information to this Committee regarding any sort of prearrangement, coordination, direction from, or advance notice provided by the Commission to the Administration or Congressional Democrats regarding last Friday’s filing against Goldman. The American people have a right to know whether the Commission, or any of its officers or employees, may have violated federal law by using the resources of an independent regulatory agency to promote a partisan political agenda.

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April 20, 2010 · Filed Under General Politics


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  • http://pelosischeme.com Citizen X

    Get Out Of Our House http://bit.ly/GoOoH Drain the political swamp November 2, 2010