Freedom of Information Act Disclosure Busts Paulson, Geithner, Bair 31 comments
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Judicial Watch, which lucked out majorly on a FOIA request to the Treasury, has received several hundred pages of stunning revelations, among which are that Hank Paulson essentially used the same tactics that he used on Ken Lewis on a group of nine bankers at the October 13 meeting which apportioned government investments to the various "critical" banking institutions. The major disclosure was captured in a memo called CEO Talking Points, which delineates the continuous use of strongarming tactics by not just Paulson, but by Tim Geithner, and Sheila Bair, who were also present at the meetings. According to one of the Talking Points:
The key memos are summarized in the pdf presented below, and the full FOIA discovery can be accessed by these following three links: Also, combing through the emails reveals this little gem of information (click to enlarge). It is good to see that the Treasury's Chief Of Staff is mostly transfixed by just how the market reacts to any gust of the wind.
Also amusing is the commentary from Cam Fine of the Independent Community Bankers of America, whose lack of an invitation to the 3pm Oct. 13 festivities made him feel like a jilted ex-girlfriend. Don't worry Cam: not being one of the too big to fail means you will still have your job long after Lewis, Vik and Blankfein are dead and buried history. Nonetheless, ironically, Cam has done one of the best jobs of analyzing the impact on the FDIC if community banks continue to be seen as just ugly step children of the Wall Street Big 9. I specifically refer to the second paragraph in the e-mail below. Way to go Cam - you tell that Sheila Bair who is in charge.
As for just who Hank Paulson's Chief of Staff is, the person who is clueless as to who the biggest banks in America are, and is more focused on the futures of the Dow than the S&P, I present the picture of Jim Wilkinson, UT Arlington alum, and former Phi Gamma Delta brother, below.
For people who are curious what the immediate response of Hank "Bald" Paulson was to the effective nationalization of the entire U.S. banking system, I present the e-mail below.
If a capital infusion is not appealing, you should be aware that your regulator will require it in any circumstance. We don’t believe it is tenable to opt out because doing so would leave you vulnerable and exposed.
Among the banking CEOs who were forced into a pre-envisioned arrangement were:
- Ken Lewis, BofA (BAC)
- Vik Pandit, Citi (C)
- Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman (GS)
- Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan (JPM)
- John Thain, Merrill
- Robert Kelley, Bank of New York (BK)
- Ronald Logue, State Street (STT)
- John Mack, Morgan Stanley (MS)
- Richard Kovacevich, Wells Fargo (WFC)
- "CEO Talking Points" used by former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson confirming that the nine bank CEOs present at the October 13 meeting had no choice but to accede to the government's demands for equity stakes and the resulting government control. The talking points emphasize that "if a capital infusion is not appealing, you should be aware your regulator will require it in any circumstance." Suggested edits of the "talking points" by Tim Geithner, then-New York Fed President, were withheld by the Obama Treasury Department.
- "Major Financial Institution Participation Commitments" signed by the nine bankers on October 13. The CEOs not only hand wrote their institution's names but also hand wrote multi-billion dollar amounts of "preferred shares" to be issued to the government.
- Email documenting that, on the very day of the meeting, the Chief of Staff to the Treasury Secretary and other top Treasury staff did not know the names of any of the banks that would be in attendance.
- Email showing Treasury officials wanted to use the Secret Service to help keep the press away from the CEOs arriving at the meeting.
- Email showing a public relations effort, run in part out of the Bush White House, to tamp down public concerns about "nationalizing the banks."
- Email showing that Paulson was able to brief Barack Obama about the bankers meeting almost immediately, but could not reach Senator John McCain.
The key memos are summarized in the pdf presented below, and the full FOIA discovery can be accessed by these following three links: Also, combing through the emails reveals this little gem of information (click to enlarge). It is good to see that the Treasury's Chief Of Staff is mostly transfixed by just how the market reacts to any gust of the wind.
Also amusing is the commentary from Cam Fine of the Independent Community Bankers of America, whose lack of an invitation to the 3pm Oct. 13 festivities made him feel like a jilted ex-girlfriend. Don't worry Cam: not being one of the too big to fail means you will still have your job long after Lewis, Vik and Blankfein are dead and buried history. Nonetheless, ironically, Cam has done one of the best jobs of analyzing the impact on the FDIC if community banks continue to be seen as just ugly step children of the Wall Street Big 9. I specifically refer to the second paragraph in the e-mail below. Way to go Cam - you tell that Sheila Bair who is in charge.
As for just who Hank Paulson's Chief of Staff is, the person who is clueless as to who the biggest banks in America are, and is more focused on the futures of the Dow than the S&P, I present the picture of Jim Wilkinson, UT Arlington alum, and former Phi Gamma Delta brother, below.
For people who are curious what the immediate response of Hank "Bald" Paulson was to the effective nationalization of the entire U.S. banking system, I present the e-mail below.
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What are the odds that Congress will hold investigative hearings on this?
the ruling elitests are obviously above the law. rules regulations, and laws only apply to us not them. obamamama wants law and the justices to bend and warp to fit his vision of utopia. it doesn't really matter what is legal or constitutional anymore (yes obamites, bush and clinton both were shredders of the constitution). what matters is protecting his enablers. (hillary was more a shredder of legal documents and evidence but the harpy knows how to trade o.j. futures.) the end (fascism) justifies the means. they are smart, brilliant, we are dumb peons that must be controled and protected from ourselves. the collective is what matters. the elitists say so. only they know and understand what is true and just.
try making a "mistake", an "oversight" or just "do not recall" with your taxes. see if it is gentle.
i will bet on the g.s. boy as the one who is teflon.
1) The American sheople prefer happy lies
Or:
2) There are economic consequences (bankruptcy) to crappy journalism
Thank you, TD! Hope your Gulag apartment has a high speed internet port.
On May 14 09:57 AM BertNo! wrote:
> Why isn't this front page news?!?! Why do I have to come to SA to
> find real news?
This is The PRIMARY REASON The Constitution was implemented; To Limit The Use Of Force.
It is unfortunate that it has been relegated to a "Living Document" with no attention payed to WHY it was created.
Beware the seat you intend for angels be occupied by evil. Power given is not so easily taken back. To Assume Benevolence Is Foolish.
On May 14 01:56 PM PainfullyAware wrote:
> Government IS Force !!!
>
> This is The PRIMARY REASON The Constitution was implemented; To Limit
> The Use Of Force.
>
> It is unfortunate that it has been relegated to a "Living Document"
> with no attention payed to WHY it was created.
>
> Beware the seat you intend for angels be occupied by evil. Power
> given is not so easily taken back. To Assume Benevolence Is Foolish.
On May 14 07:45 AM User 54476 wrote:
> O di immortales! Ubinam gentium sumus! Quam rem publicam habemus?
> in qua urbe vivimus? Hic, hic sunt in nostro numero, patres conscripti,
> in hoc orbis terrae sanctissimo gravissimoque consilio, qui de nostro
> omnium interitu, qui de hujus urbis atque adeo de orbis terrarum
> exitio cogitent.
On May 14 06:18 AM User 353732 wrote:
> What happened to separation of Bank and State?
> Well, the governing elites concluded many years ago that protecting
> investors, consumers and honoring both law and custom were major
> impediments to advancing the self interest of the political and financial
> barons. Collusion, in the name of the people, was a far more expedient
> strategy for self perpetuation.
> They decided that the quaint old way when money and sovereignty
> belonged to the people and Washinton DC and Wall St actually had
> to earn the right to make important national decisions and take
> and spend the people's money was neither efficient nor modern. The
> elites looked at the way the Chinese, Russians and Japanese did things
> and saw that it was good. So, the elites decided that "globalizing"
> this collusion between State and Bank would be the new, improved
> way for ensuring the continuity and advancement of Elitism in the
> US.
> Transparency, accountability and bright lines made the Washington-Wall
> St oligarchy anxious and fearful, so away with them.
> The old American model was: protect the people from the governing
> elite. The new model is: protect the governing elite from the people.
> The Chinese, Russians and Japanese approve and applaud.
1) Except of a couple of stupid comments all of them were reasonable, therefore I have to conclude there are a number of people going around and giving thumbs down to anyone who has something good to say about Tyler's posts. I consider this to just be another aspect of how the government wants to suppress the truth, and you see it very often now on any article that ould be considered to bearish or have a neg. view on our government. Well folks it aint going to work, and I am nominating Tyler for a Pulitzer
2) Not being at the table when things were hitting the fan it is hard for me to commnet. If Paulson and the Gov't believed the house of cards would fall down overnight I can understand why they did it. Don't forget a number of other banks (Lehman) said they had enough cash and look what happened when they went down over a weekend. So, it may have been the correct thing to do to avoid systemic collapse
2) Assuming number two is true, there is no need to cover it up and lie about it. that is what worries me." We forced certain systemicly impt banks to accept funds at a time of crisis to prevent the collpase of our banking system." That sounds reasonable to me.
3)What is the current need to hide Geitner's comments to edit the talking points. he is a current government figure and at the middle of this scandal. the american people should know what his role was.
4) We all see how Washington is focused on Wall Street numbers. One of the reasons we are having such a difficult time fixing this problem is we are more concerned with the dow than fixing the problem. This will delay an effective solution to the crisis and lead to solutions that are too directed to short term market upkeep instead of long term stabliity.
5) Just another piece of the cover up that is being exposed each and every day about this crisis, yet those who point out the cover up keep getting shouted down. This implies a sad state of our democracy.
There is no "Illuminati" or secret evil plan of population control.
What does exist is an apathetic public, more concerned with whom might win American Idol than what happens behind the walls of their houses of governance.
What does exist is an indoctrination training camp called the "public school system" and most every college. Their graduates are nothing more than mindless automatons able to regurgitate facts on demand. Taught that failure is bad and thinking outside the group mentality is un-productive and damaging to the "betterment of society".
What does exist is the "career politician". Revered and worshiped within their realm. Drunk on power, high on ego and strung out on false promises.
What does exist is a collusive news media, pandering for their own survival. long gone is the "news cast", replaced instead by commentary, crafted to fit the agenda of those pandered to and those willing to eat their spoon fed version of truthisim.
What does exist are the opportunists. Those that seek to enrich their lives by deceit, deception and disorder. Weather created, crafted or cajoled by them, they position themselves at the table, mouths agape ready to swallow all they can using what ever means available.
But you already know this.
And you don't like it.
And you write just like I have on these boards.
And you find many people agree with you.
And yet nothing changes.
Mad? Angry? Upset? Disgusted?
Yes.
But there is the mortgage, the car payment, the kids to feed.
So well just make ourselves feel good by venting, having a good "internet cry" and then it's back to the same.
Maybe it's time we lose everything.
Then we will realize "everything" was really nothing disguised as something.
I am very glad the Federal Government rescued the banking system.
And yes, the government does have broad regulatory power over the banks.
On May 14 06:18 AM User 353732 wrote:
> What happened to separation of Bank and State?
> Well, the governing elites concluded many years ago that protecting
> investors, consumers and honoring both law and custom were major
> impediments to advancing the self interest of the political and financial
> barons. Collusion, in the name of the people, was a far more expedient
> strategy for self perpetuation.
> They decided that the quaint old way when money and sovereignty
> belonged to the people and Washinton DC and Wall St actually had
> to earn the right to make important national decisions and take
> and spend the people's money was neither efficient nor modern. The
> elites looked at the way the Chinese, Russians and Japanese did things
> and saw that it was good. So, the elites decided that "globalizing"
> this collusion between State and Bank would be the new, improved
> way for ensuring the continuity and advancement of Elitism in the
> US.
> Transparency, accountability and bright lines made the Washington-Wall
> St oligarchy anxious and fearful, so away with them.
> The old American model was: protect the people from the governing
> elite. The new model is: protect the governing elite from the people.
> The Chinese, Russians and Japanese approve and applaud.
You were correct. You said we could not impose Communist on the capitalist running dogs. You said be patient, and they will welcome Communism. And now we are seeing your prediction unfold before our eyes.
On May 15 01:01 PM American in Paris wrote:
> You're very confused. Without those capital infusions those banks
> were bankrupt today.
>
> I am very glad the Federal Government rescued the banking system.
>
>
> And yes, the government does have broad regulatory power over the
> banks.