LaTourette wants investigation: Did federal official steer cash to his former client, PNC? 10-27-08

[Kolesar]

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

Updated at 7 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Steven LaTourette wants the Treasury Department and Congress to investigate whether Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan steered $7.7 billion of taxpayer bailout money to his former client PNC so it could buy National City Bank.

LaTourette noted that before being sworn in as the nation's primary banking regulator in August 2005, Dugan represented Pittsburgh-based PNC as an attorney in the Washington law firm Covington and Burling.

"I am very concerned that the comptroller first deprived bailout money to National City Bank and then orchestrated its sale to his former client PNC," LaTourette said in a news statement. "The officials at PNC have made it very clear that they were only able to buy National City because they got a $7.7 billion handout from the federal government."
...
Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who represents half of Lorain County, described the move as "nefarious," and says she believes that the Bush administration is using the bailout program to "concentrate banking power with their friends on Wall Street" and create cartels.

"By Washington and Wall Street cooperating to drive down the book value on banks across this country at the same time as they use taxpayer money to subsidize the wrongdoers, they are concentrating our financial system to an unheard-of level and destroying good banks in the process," said Kaptur.

...

LaTourette, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, wrote letters on Monday to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank requesting probes of the situation.

Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said he spoke with LaTourette on Monday and agreed to familiarize himself with the matter. Frank plans an oversight hearing in November on the financial rescue plan, "and this could clearly be a part of it," he said.

"This was not what we had in mind when we passed the rescue plan," Frank said when asked about Treasury picking winners and losers. "I'm going to look into it."


Read more: http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/10/latourette_fears_government_of.html

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Cleveland has lost a major employer and a useful financial resource.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:

"I have been warning for weeks that the congressionally approved bailout, which I vigorously opposed, would give the Treasury Department the power to pick winners and losers. By helping PNC and denying help to National City, the Treasury Department has proven my point." Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Cleveland Democrat

[rateyes]

1. When is Congress going to learn that the whole damned Bush administration

are corrupt bastards? Giving money to them to use at their discretion, giving them authority to use military force---any blank check is just damned stupid.

:banghead:

[MsLeopard]

2. No kidding

This makes me want to scream. I spent two weeks faxing, calling, and urging my representatives (and sickening Pelosi) to not cave in on giving proven liars $700 billion of taxpayer money. And even Barbara Boxer voted for it! The insulting irony of it is that my Thug representative, Icky Issa, voted against it - go figure.

[MetaTrope]

3. And the White House itself has $100 BILLION of that money

Where do you suppose it's going to end up?!