Econintersect: The day after a very critical documentary aired on PBS, the Chief of the Justoce Department Criminal Division, Lanny Breuer, resigned. The Frontline program, which aired on 22 January 2013 with the insinuating title “The Untouchables,” suggested that rampant fraud had gone uninvestigated and and financial system executives had somehow avoided indictment for failure to control fraud and perhaps of having direct knowledge of it. A relatively neutral report on Breuer was written by Danielle Douglas in The Washington Post, whose photo of Breuer (forground) appears below (with Attorney General Eric Holder).
The clips of Breuer in The Untouchables broadcast were considered by many to be quite unflattering. Thus the timing of his resignation casts an even more negative shadow over his role and his defense of same.
Critics have been numerous.
At FireDog Lake, masaccio wrote cryptically:
After his ratlike performance on Frontline (transcript here) it won’t be long before we find him at some creepy New York or DC law firm defending his best friends, the banks and their sleazy employees. His legacy is simple: too big to fail banks can’t possibly commit crimes, so minor civil fines and false promises of reform are punishment enough.
The Daily Kos (bobswern) was similarly pointed:
As of just a few hours ago, the public is now being told that the DoJ’s top person responsible for allowing our country’s most egregious pillagers to walk away, scot-free failing to prosecute Wall Street’s senior-most exec’s during our country’s record-breaking Recession, Lanny Breuer, soon will no longer be employed by our government.
Blogger emptywheel:
Last night, Frontline had a very good show exposing how derelict DOJ has been in not prosecuting any of the banksters who ruined the economy. It could have been far, far worse, as it dealt solely with the securitization crimes that were ignored. Nevertheless, it showed Lanny Breuer to be an arrogant jerk who insisted DOJ couldn’t prosecute, in spite of the abundant evidence of crime presented in the show.
Nevertheless, DOJ spent part of the day threatening Frontline to never cooperate again.
And, presumably, part of the day planting this way-too complimentary piece in the WaPo announcing Breuer’s departure.
I am sure there will be more heard from Breuer’s many critics tomorrow.
Sources:
- Lanny Breuer, Justice Department criminal division chief, is stepping down (Daniell Douglas, The Washington Post, 23 January 2013)
- PBS: The Untouchables (Gavin Kakol, GEI News, 23 January 2013)
- Breuer Identifies Real Clients on Frontline then Quits (masaccio, FireDogLake, 23 January 2013)
- Justice Dept. Criminal Division Chief Lanny Breuer Abruptly Resigns After PBS’ Frontline Appearance (bobswern, Daily Kos, 23 January 2013)
- Day after Frontline Exposure, Lanny Breuer Resignation Reported (emptywheeel, 23 January 2013)
