Goldman Sachs Hires Former Obama White House Counsel Greg Craig to Defend Against SEC

Democrats in Congress seem to be in a great hurry to capitalize on the burgeoning Goldman-Sachs scandal. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is today urging that Congress take swift action to pass a financial reform bill, while the U.S. economy is still recovering from the shock of September 2008 and while Goldman-Sachs is turning on a spit like a fresh-killed turkey.

Once again, the gullibility of the American taxpayer is being tested. Democrat party supporters of the two bills in Congress are peddling the narrative that they are the muscular superheroes who will rescue America from the Wall Street devils and that Republicans are the sneaky, avaricious thieves who are trying to protect their cronies in the world of high finance.

Those Democrats who are committed to this politically convenient theory are not much interested in economic facts. Investment banks like Goldman-Sachs routinely make financial contributions to both parties, and their lobbyists go in and out of the revolving door of politics to government and back again. The degree to which this escapes public notice can be seen in the news today that Goldman-Sachs has hired former Obama White House general counsel Greg Craig to defend itself against last Friday's SEC lawsuit.

What is Goldman-Sachs buying in Greg Craig? A capable and mercenary lawyer who schooled President Obama during his presidential campaign and who was afterward appointed White House counsel. As White House counsel, Craig led the White House into directions some criticized.

A Wikipedia entry regarding Craig's job in the Obama administration describes his activity on behalf of President Obama: "Craig was prominent in handling several issues-taking the first step toward fulfilling the campaign pledge to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp; the search that produced the Supreme Court nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor; revising interrogation and detention policies; the release of Department of Justice memos on harsh interrogations; and "he was at the center of the White House decision to reverse itself and withhold photographs of detainee abuse."

If that doesn't hint at a coziness between Wall Street investment firms and Democrats pretending to pass a financial "reform" bill, then nothing will. Another early on Obama supporter, billionaire Warren Buffet, came to the rescue of Goldman-Sachs at the same time the U.S. government was bailing out Goldman and other firms with links to toxic mortgage debt and the would-be bankrupt AIG insurance corporation.

Warren Buffet, known variously as the "Oracle of Omaha" and the "moral compass of Wall Street," bought $5 billion worth of Goldman-Sachs preferred shares (the ones that get paid before regular stockholders) guaranteeing a 10% dividend and another 5 billion in warrants ("warrants" are essentially an option to buy Goldman common stock at $115 per share while it trades today at about $160). Warren Buffet's investments in Goldman were smart, legal, timely, and profitable, just as was his purchase of Burlington Northern Railways at a fantastic discount. My point was rather that some Obama supporters are so wealthy that they can function like governments. After all, Goldman Sachs took "only" $10 or 12 billion from taxpayer money in the TARP fund. It's time for the conventional political myths to die. It's also time for one-party rule in Congress to end, and for people to take the time to look and learn from the White House/Beltway version of Crooklyn's Three Card Monte.