Monday, January 9, 2012

More Crony Socialism From The DOJ

Eric Holder and the US Department of Justice (Civil Rights Division) have been handed another pot of gold to distribute to his racist friends. This past month, as a Christmas gift to Holder and Barack Obama, the US District Court for the Central District of California (Los Angeles and environs) issued its ruling in the case of The United States v Countrywide Financial Corporation.

A $335 million award was granted to blacks and Hispanics who took out loans with Countrywide during the period from 2004 to 2008. Now if this judgment had been entered after an extended court battle, including hard evidence and believable testimony, it might not be so bad. But Countrywide Financial is not in a position to defend itself, since it no longer exists. Its toxic assets were purchased in 2008 by Bank of America, and Bank of America seemed uninterested in pursuing the matter further. That might have something to do with simple financial risk calculation. I find it more likely that B of A, a recipient of largess from the federal government in the form of bailouts, was being very timid about offending its benefactors in the Obama administration.

So there was what is called a “consent decree.” The plaintiff (DOJ) and defendant (Countrywide/B of A) enter into an agreement on money damages, how they were determined, and how the agreement will be presented to the public in the form of a formal judgment. Here’s the money quote from the decision: “The money damages awarded are intended to compensate allegedly aggrieved persons for monetary and other damages they may have suffered.”

The court rubberstamped the DOJ contention that blacks and Hispanics were charged higher interest rates than whites based solely on their race or ethnicity rather than their creditworthiness. There were approximately 200,000 aggrieved borrowers, but it will be up to Holder and the DOJ to determine who gets what, and how much. Any money not distributed within two years of the decree will go to persons and causes to be determined by the DOJ. And you can bet there will be plenty of undistributed money left over to be used by Holder to reward his political cronies.

Holder and his boss are of course expecting to be back in office in 2012 with the full power of the DOJ to enrich their pet causes and supporters. And even before the election, Holder can play accountant-in-chief for how the money damages will be distributed and to whom. That is very likely to include those who would benefit most from Barack Obama’s reelection. Among the potential recipients mentioned in the decree are nonprofit community organizations that “provide education, counseling and other assistance to low-income and minority borrowers.” Isn’t that what got us into this mortgage mess in the first place?

There is honor among thieves, so Holder will make sure there is plenty of money “undistributed” and he will make promises to supporters of Obama’s reelection that they will be recipients of that money after Obama’s reelection and the passage of the two-year distribution period. I have no doubt that he will keep his word. There is no provision whatsoever in the decree for oversight of the distribution by any person or entity other than Holder and the DOJ themselves.

Holder’s history of favoritism and race-baiting pretty much guarantees that “leftover” money will be distributed to persons and interest groups which have no connection at all to the original lawsuit. The first one that comes to my mind is The New Black Panther Poll-Watching Consortium. Ok, I made that up. But is it really that far-fetched? Need I say that this is just another chapter in the history of what Michelle Malkin calls “the culture of corruption?”

26 comments:

Tennessee Jed said...

Hawk - thanks! I look to you to keep my quotient of righteous indignation white hot through election day. My only quibble is with the campaign poster for Holder. He is dangerous, but it is will, purposeful, and criminal.

Joel Farnham said...

So, the money for the bailout is now re-re-distributed according to racists guidelines, and that Obama and Holder get to pick and choose which people get the largess? Yep, it does sound like Crony Socialism going on. Also it has a tinge of banana republic aspect. Where is Evita....er... Michelle fit in with all of this?

Effing b*st*rds. While it doesn't surprise me, like Tennessee Jed, it does infuriate me.

Individualist said...

Lawhawk

Holder is no idiot! He knows exactly what he is doing. He is a dangerous criminal.

We knew at the end of Clinton's tenure when holder was instrumental is selling pardons exactly who this guy is. The fact that the Dems would allow this guy in as Attorney General shows how little they actually care about this country.


We have an entire party that is so corrupt and arrogant that it has crossed over into the dichotomy of Orwellian governance. There is no legal and illegal any more. there is only the favor and disfavor of the party.

tryanmax said...

Smacks of Pigford v. Glickman only worse. So now, apparently, Hispanics are entitled to reparations, as well. I suppose, seeing as how we supposedly stole the southwestern desert from Mexico.

BevfromNYC said...

So what does this mean for former Senator Chris "I'm a Friend of CountryWide" Dodd? Doesn't he have to pay extra because he got preferential loans from CW as the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee? I mean, some of that $335M should be paid directly from his pocket.

T-Rav said...

Assuming Romney becomes the nominee, he'd better play these cases of corruption for all they're worth to combat Obama's charges of "crony capitalism"--which are surely on the way. Heck, promise some investigations of Holder & Co. and he might even get the base excited for the first time.

Notawonk said...

each new day under barry ignites my anger anew. how much more can we endure?

Tehachapi Tom said...

Hawk
Thanks now I will start a new week pissed off.
One would think Holder would want to lay low for a while.

AndrewPrice said...

DOJ has been doing this for decades now and I think Congress needs to put an end to it. IF DOJ gets money, it should go to the Treasury, not become a slushfund.

Unknown said...

Tennessee: I had some of the same thoughts. But I chose the picture after watching an episode of the TruTV series "World's Dumbest Criminals."

Unknown said...

Joel: The only difference between this and a banana republic is that in the banana republic, the leaders give the money to the colonels and here they give it to the bureaucrats and fake capitalists. There's also a strong hint of Julius Caesar solidifying his position by buying off the plebes.

Unknown said...

Indi: I don't credit him with a lot of innate intelligence. There's a difference between "smart" and "street-smart." In the end, though, the result is often the same. And you're absolutely right about the lawlessness of this law enforcement officer and his party. The rule of law has been replaced with the rule of personal gain. And they're not even particularly subtle about it.

Unknown said...

tryanmax: Very true. It really smacks of the same logic (and probably result) as Pigford. There will suddenly be more new claimants than original applicants, but the big winners will be those who support Obama. When the DOJ uses what its supporters allege to bludgeon free enterprise rather than prove facts in a court of law, we're in serious danger of a complete collapse of the rule of law. This isn't law, it's pure race-based politics. At least in Pigford there was some actual proof of some racial discrimination at the start, but like Topsy, it just growed.

Unknown said...

Bev: I'm not holding my breath waiting for that. Are you? LOL

Unknown said...

T-Rav: I'm hoping that Romney's reticence to outright attack his primary opponents doesn't carry over into the general election (if he wins the nomination, of course). This administration makes the Nixon administration look squeaky-clean by comparison. Whoever the candidate is, he must keep hammering at the corruption of this administration, relentlessly and daily.

Unknown said...

Patti: There's an old saying that God doesn't give us more than we can handle. The trick is to recognize that and let it strengthen our resolve rather than let it bring us down. For the atheists in our camp, I'll go with Nietzsche: "That which does not destroy me makes me strong."

BevfromNYC said...

LawHawk - Silly me, I forgot that our esteemed Congresscritters get to engage in activities that we mere mortals cannot like insider trading and preferential treatment from those for whom our esteemed Cc's should have a conflict of interest.

Unknown said...

Tehachapi Tom: Holder suffers from a trait that eventually brings most criminals down. They do something illegal, carefully and trepidatiously, fearing being caught. When they don't get caught, they do it again, less cautiously. And then again, boldly, thinking nobody is noticing. And that's when they get caught. Each successful crime makes it easier to justify the next one--until the handcuffs go on.

Unknown said...

Andrew: That's true. Power tends to corrupt. But I think that this is an example of a change in form becoming a change in substance. This administration is rather proud of using its inherent powers to crush opposition while rewarding its puppets. As Plunkett of Tammany Hall said, "there's good graft and there's bad graft, and the successful politician knows the difference." Obama and Holder don't know the difference.

Unknown said...

Bev: Even a political junkie like me can be caught clueless. Until the latest round of revelations, I didn't know that Congress was exempt from insider trading rules. That little loophole needs to be closed, as Obama would say, "right away."

tryanmax said...

LawHawk: when I googled Pigford to check the name, I saw a headline that read 500% of US Black Farmers Sign Up" Totally ridiculous.

I am troubled how politicians and ordinary citizens alike seem to have forgotten that the Rule of Law is not a devise constructed by man, but a fact of life arising from Nature. The founders appealed to "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" in the Declaration, but we live in a time when a near third give no credence to facts. Where there is no respect for the facts, how can there be respect for the law?

In response to Nietzsche: "That which does not destroy me only makes me wish it had."

Game Master Rob Adams said...

Just another example of class warfare. Come and see the violence inherit in the system. Eric Holder is a senator and we are all plebs. If we break the law we go to jail. If he breaks the law he gets a lollypop.

Unknown said...

tryanmax: Yep. That's what I meant by "like Topsy, it just growed." As a sidenote, among the conservative Supreme Court Justices, only Clarence Thomas bases his decisions on the natural law theory so beloved by the Founders.

Postmodernist philosophy has become a pandemic. There is no truth (fact), only what each person perceives to be truth. Aw, hooey. That's a reductio ad absurdum.

As for Nietzsche, LOL

Unknown said...

ACG: In reality, Holder is a member of the Equestrian Order--a horse's ass.

T-Rav said...

LawHawk and tryanmax, I had a comment about that quote of Nietzsche's and syphilis, but it appears Blogger ate it. Oh well. Suffice to say, I don't think ol' Friedrich's "philosophy" was borne out by the manner in which his life ended.

Unknown said...

T-Rav: That'll teach him to screw around.

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