"It would no doubt come as some surprise to many … that S&P's repeated assurances...

"It would no doubt come as some surprise to many … that S&P's repeated assurances that its ratings were objective … were entitled to no more weight than an infomercial hawker's claim that his knife will outlast any other," the Justice Department says, referencing S&P's (MHFI) assertion that because statements about the independence of its ratings were described as "mere puffery" in a previous judgement, they can't form the basis for a lawsuit. The Justice Department asked a federal judge to allow a suit against the ratings agency to move forward Monday, after S&P filed for dismissal last month.