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October 9, 2008: Congresswoman Kaptur Warns of Potential Conflicts of Interest in Bailout Plan

October 9, 2008


Pointing to the appointment of Neel Kashkari as interimdirector of the bailout plan, Kaptur said she is concerned that aformer Goldman Sachs executive has been given such authorityconsidering the firm’s track record.

“The American people deserve to know how much taxpayer moneyKashkari’s former employer, Goldman Sachs, will receive in the bailoutand how many of Goldman’s former staffers will be involved,” she said.“The American people are watching the Bush Administration’s every move,and this appointment raises questions about insider access and selfdealing.”

Kaptur said that Goldman Sachs, under then chief executiveofficer Hank Paulson, received an exemption from the Securities andExchange Commission in 2004 to engage in “unregulated, risky and highlyleveraged investments. They turn out badly, and now the taxpayers areon the hook to pay Paulson’s former firm enormous fees and massivecapital to make it right for them. I wonder if anyone at Goldman Sachsis taking any kind of a pay cut.” Paulson is now the TreasurySecretary.

As part of here nine-point plan to address the economicemergency, Congresswoman Kaptur has called for creation of a specialprosecutor in the U.S. Justice Department to investigate financialcrimes, including fraud, misrepresentation of asset value, insidertrading and any other criminal activity related to the current crisis.The special prosecutor should have a staff of at least 500, includingthe attorneys and accountants necessary to conduct investigations,undertake forensic accounting and prosecute suspected wrongdoers.Recovery of assets that were either fraudulently or illegally obtainedby individuals, board members or institutions involved in criminalactivity should be required retroactive to 1990.