Maybe this is slightly off-topic here, but I have an opinion piece up at The Huffington Post reacting to Attorney General Eric Holder's bombshell too-big-to-jail comments yesterday. If you haven't heard, Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee that some banks may be too big to prosecute, and Congress should consider doing something about it. In case you missed it, here's a cut of the transcript:
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa: In the case of bank prosecution. I'm concerned we have a mentality of 'too big to jail' in the financial sector, spreading from fraud cases to terrorist financing to money laundering cases. I would cite HSBC.
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Attorney General Eric Holder: [T]he concern that you have raised is one that I, frankly, share. I'm not talking about HSBC here, that would be inappropriate.I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if we do prosecute — if we do bring a criminal charge — it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy. I think that is a function of the fact that some of these institutions have become too large.
Again, I'm not talking about HSBC, this is more of a general comment. I think it has an inhibiting influence, impact on our ability to bring resolutions that I think would be more appropriate. I think that's something that we — you all [Congress] — need to consider. The concern that you raised is actually one that I share.
And here's the video.
