Department of JustA$$

So Senator Levin's permanent subcommittee just referred the matter of apparent perjury in testimony given by Goldman Sachs luminaries and others during testimony to the Department of Justice.  This involved being less than truthful in responding to questions put to them by Congress while under oath.  Basically lying to our government about actions they took contributing to the near collapse of the global banking system and jump-starting the great recession.

Now it strikes me that stuff like this - looting pension funds, fraudulently betraying their own customers, shorting their own products while at the same time peddling them to institutions - is of slightly greater importance than the Barry Bonds perjury and obstruction case.  That recent fiasco soon to be followed by the Roger Clemens circus.

Keep in mind that Senate committees cannot bring charges themselves.  All they can do turn over findings with their recommendation  to the DOJ for action.  The DOJ then decides whether to proceed.

Now the DOJ has the benefit of mountains of information, along with findings of fact.  These findings of fact are just as the term says it is.  A group of qualified individuals assigned a task allowing for sworn testimony determined certain facts based on overwhelming evidence leading to their conclusions.  Essentially, they did the legwork to present a compelling argument for appropriate action.  They tied it up in a neat bow - saving a lot of work for government prosecutors.  The basis of a credible case handed over on a silver platter.

Now we will see for whom the Department of Justice actually works.  If they bury this referral or sloppily and lazily decide not to go forward - then it IS EITHER sloppiness and laziness OR pure flat-out corruption.  By not proceeding with charges, the DOJ would effectively be saying that the findings of fact by a Senate Committee were unjustified.

They better be very careful here.  Many, many citizens watched this testimony.  Observed the misinformation and obfuscation first hand.  It will be very difficult and unwise for the DOJ to tell these same citizens that they didn't see what they saw.

If the citizenry then watches the DOJ go forward  with another professional baseball steroid perjury/obstruction case- without pursuing the banker fraud, conspiracy and perjury that has so impacted all of us - then they will have announced the "state of their agency".  They will have announced that they see themselves as an outfit that should go after players in a professional sport that half the country or more doesn't give a crap about in the first place.  They will further announce themselves as a body that doesn't give a crap about the most important matters in the lives of 98% of the population.  Whether because they have been bought out by the elite or lack the drive to proceed is not relevant.  The fact would be that they should just get in line behind the Fed and Treasury as confirmed weapons of mass financial destruction.

That would constitute a finding of fact by the public - and one very well supported by the evidence.