Barofsky

The Man Who Knew Too Much

Michael Collins
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Neil M. Barofsky wrote a devastating column for the New York Times on March 29, his last day as Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP). The roles for his position were:

"to conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits and investigations of the purchase, management, and sale of assets under the Troubled Asset Relief Program ("TARP"). SIGTARP is required to report quarterly to Congress describing SIGTARP’s activities and providing certain information about TARP over that preceding quarter." April 21, 2009 (Image SIGTARP)

SIGTARP Barofsky - Investigating New York Fed for Criminal & Civil Charges

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Wow. Bloomberg has interviewed SIGTARP inspector General Neil Barofsky. Buried at the bottom of the story is this:

Barofsky says the question of whether the New York Fed engaged in a coverup will result in some sort of action.

“We’re either going to have criminal or civil charges against individuals or we’re going to have a report,” Barofsky says. “This is too important for us not to share our findings.”

He won’t say whether the investigation is targeting Geithner personally.

(h/t ZeroHedge)

That would be amazing is any of the architects of this disaster, including now Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, would be held publicly accountable.

Here Comes Barofsky

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Neil Barofsky, SIGTARP, the TARP inspector general, is gunnin' for Wall Street. So reports Reuters:

The special inspector general for the government's bailout program said he would probe whether securities sold by Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) led to losses at AIG and if the American taxpayer was a victim of fraud.

Gets better:

Barofsky said he is in touch with the SEC and will possibly coordinate with the Department of Justice "to see if there are cases of fraud and if AIG and as a result, the American taxpayers, were victims of similar types of fraud."

Barofsky made the comments in response to questions from the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Charles Grassley, at a hearing examining the TARP.

Holy Cow Batman! SIGTARP Barofsky says U.S. on the hook for $23.7 Trillion in bail out!

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Update: The actual testimony is here, SIGTARP Barofsky Testimony and attached to this post.

As massive and as important as TARP is on its own, it is just one part of a much broader Federal Government effort to stabilize and support the financial system. Since the onset of the financial crisis in 2007, the Federal Government, through many agencies, has implemented dozens of programs that are broadly designed to support the economy and financial system. The total potential Federal Government support could reach up to $23.7 trillion.