Donald Trump Nominee Jay Clayton to be Most Conflicted SEC Chair Ever

"It's hard to see," [Ohio Sen. Sherrod] Brown said, "how an attorney who's spent his career helping Wall Street beat the rap will keep President-elect Trump's promise to stop big banks and hedge funds from 'getting away with murder.'"

Jay Clayton helped Warren Buffet invest $10 billion in Goldman Sachs

while Goldman Sachs had tens of billions worth of credit lines at the Federal Reserve in 2008

Most of the consternation over Clayton's appointment has to do with his own background as a longtime defender of big banks. He's been involved in some infamously shadowy episodes in the post-crisis era, with two in particular standing out.

He represented Goldman Sachs when the firm received a $5 billion capital infusion from Warren Buffet during the September 2008 meltdown.

Did Warren Buffet know about the Fed credit lines and secret lending

when he invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs?

Did Jay Clayton?

The public found out in 2010-2011, without anyone going to jail

He also represented Barclays during its malodorous acquisition of the assets of Lehman Brothers, an episode one lawyer described to me years ago as "the greatest bank robbery you never heard of."

...this incoming SEC chief is also married to a broker at Goldman Sachs – his wife Gretchen is a wealth management advisor. This means that a significant portion of Clayton's family income while in office will presumably be coming from a company he is charged with policing.

..."Clayton will be the most financially conflicted SEC chairman in history."

Did Jay Clayton violate Sarbanes Oxley Section 307?

Remember, at the Republican convention last year, Trump supporters heckled Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi, for being a Goldman Sachs employee.

Quite the hypocrisy

Where are all those furious Trump supporters now that their idol has put the husband of a Goldman broker in charge of the SEC?...

Drain the Swamp...

...Clayton going forward will have to recuse himself from any enforcement decision involving Goldman. This is no small thing, since Goldman has not exactly been a stranger to SEC enforcement decisions over the years.

Yet even as he has to sit out Goldman's inevitable enforcement problems because of his wife, Clayton will not have to recuse himself from rulemaking decisions that could affect Goldman far more than isolated corruption cases.

...Goldman Sachs isn't just a frequent flyer when it comes to SEC enforcement fiascoes. The bank is also a regular applicant – and recipient – of SEC waivers exempting it from the automatic penalties and sanctions that would otherwise be triggered by their offenses.

...Who needs an SEC chief who has to stay on the sidelines for some of the most important cases the agency considers? It's like having a police commissioner who has to cover his ears every time someone mentions the Crips or the Latin Kings.

A year ago at this time, Donald Trump was ridiculing Ted Cruz for being a "puppet" of Goldman. Now Clayton joins senior advisor Steve Bannon, Treasury appointee Steve Mnuchin, NEC director Gary Cohn and White House advisor Anthony Scaramucci as high-ranking Trump appointees who are either from Goldman or married to someone at the firm..."

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/trump-pick-jay-clayton-to-be-most-conflicted-sec-chair-ever-w459289
.
.
If former New York Fed Chairman and Goldman Sach's alumni Stephen Friedman knew about secret loans to Goldman in 2008 and 2009, how did he not buy GS with unknown information?

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2012/10/if-former-new-york-fed-chairman-and.html

Barron's rooting for Goldman Sachs; "Get Ready for Dow 20,000"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/barrons-rooting-for-goldman-sachs-get.html

Donald Trump's SEC nominee Jay Clayton = Lawyer defending criminal acts by Banks is not Swamp Draining

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2017/01/donald-trumps-sec-nominee-jay-clayton.html

Carved up Annotated Kunstler Must Read; "Mob psychology is outrunning both experience and reality"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2017/01/carved-up-annotated-kunstler-must-read.html

"Wells Fargo owns the mortgage on Trump Tower"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/wells-fargo-owns-mortgage-on-trump-tower.html

Washington Post allows Goldman Sachs' Hank Paulson to lie to readers

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/06/washington-post-allows-goldman-sachs.html

John Stumpf's Sarbanes Oxley Securities Fraud at Wells Fargo 

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/10/john-stumpfs-sarbanes-oxley-securities.html

Too Connected to Jail; The Short, Short Version

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/12/too-connected-to-jail-short-short.html

Wells Fargo "Envision" Retirement Plan Incentive Bonus Fraud 

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2015/07/envision-retirement-plans.html

Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Wachovia and Perella Weinberg 

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2016/03/goldman-sachs-wells-fargo-wachovia-and.html

"Wachovia Corp – #14 recipient of Fed’s “secret liquidity lifelines” which Hank Paulson just lied about in the Washington Post, which allowed his undersecretary Robert Steel to illegally trade Wachovia stock on inside information

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/05/wachovia-corp-14-recipient-of-feds.html

ROBERT K. STEEL and the President's Working Group

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/11/robert-k-steel-and-presidents-working.html

"Goldman Sachs' top executives had over 1 million stock option grants due to expire worthless next week"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/11/goldman-sachs-top-executives-had-over-1.html

Then Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who hired former Wachovia CEO and Goldman Sachs alumni Robert Steel, on bashing bankers

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/12/then-mayor-michael-bloomberg-who-hired.html

"Revelations From Those Secret Goldman Sachs Tapes"

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/revelations-from-those-secret-goldman.html

"Former examiner sues NY Fed for alleged Goldman Sachs-related firing"

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2013/10/former-examiner-sues-ny-fed-for-alleged.html

Does it matter?; "Revenues were less than budgeted in 25 states in fiscal 2016?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-13/do-state-revenue-trends-indicate-recession-imminent

"The combination of declining revenue and soaring costs forced 19 states to slash budgets in FY 2016, the highest since the "great recession".

Republicans in congress appear to want to balance the budget,

which is opposite of what Trump wants to do,

which is spend public money like Marty Kotis, Roy Carroll and Jim Melvin etc... want to

to line their pockets with money borrowed at interest by Greensboro's taxpayers

...an uptick in state revenue shortfalls have been a solid leading indicator of all four of the previous U.S. recessionary periods.

And the central banks print

while the president elect cheer leads his way into a corner

with fiscal conservatives and all the enemies he's made

come at him with pitchforks, and then cave to the military industrial complex, 

along with Trump himself

...states were forced to cut $2.8 billion out of FY 2016 budgets

No worries, Goldman Sachs has arrived to package some products

to make falling revenues look like they are rising again

until it doesn't work anymore, just like last time

...California's Department of Finance Director warns that a "recession is coming sometime soon" after sales tax collections have consistently missed targets in recent months on the back of lower consumption levels

Think Trump's new cabinet picks are going to increase employment 

at Energy, HUD, Labor, Commerce and Education etc...?

...we're sure the market will find someway to spin this in a positive light"

Think the Environmental Protection agency will have more employees than less

in 24 months?

Does it matter if the central banks still print $200 billion or more a month?

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/does-it-matter-if-central-banks-still.html

"We live in a society driven by debt"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/we-live-in-society-driven-by-debt.html

Markets can go higher, longer than those betting against it can stay solvent

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/11/markets-can-go-higher-longer-than-those.html

"Thrifty U.S. consumers [left] retailers with less money in their registers and a lukewarm kickoff to the holiday season."

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/11/thrifty-us-consumers-left-retailers.html

"Record number of car buyers 'upside down' on trade-ins"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/11/record-number-of-car-buyers-upside-down.html

What a Stock Market Bubble Looks Like

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/what-stock-market-bubble-looks-like.html

As long as Central Banks keep printing...

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/as-long-as-central-banks-keep-printing.html

Toblerone chocolate bars are now 10% smaller, comment and links

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/toblerone-chocolate-bars-are-now-10.html

Awesome Sauce in the Job Market from a "fake" news outlet and some News and Record propaganda

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/awesome-sauce-in-job-market-from-fake.html

12/12/16 Twitter Pulls

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/121216-twitter-pulls.html

Sadness, Euphoria, Fear and Greed

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/sadness-euphoria-fear-and-greed.html

Andrew Brod on 'winning' Federal money via his crony friends at the City of Greensboro

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/andrew-brod-on-winning-federal-money.html

Obamacare; "A friend in New York received a call from his stepmother in North Carolina"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/obamacare-friend-in-new-york-received.html

Sarah Palin slams Greensboro for 'crony capitalism' deals

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/sarah-palin-slams-greensboro-for-crony.html

"Anti-elite sentiment is rising on both sides of the Atlantic"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/anti-elite-sentiment-is-rising-on-both.html

Barron's rooting for Goldman Sachs; "Get Ready for Dow 20,000"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/barrons-rooting-for-goldman-sachs-get.html

"We killed 58% of all vertebrate wildlife just between 1970 and 2012"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/we-killed-58-of-all-vertebrate-wildlife.html

Sunday, December 11, 2016; Sunday morning twitter pulls

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/sunday-morning-twitter-pulls.html

"Venezuela may have just signed its own economic death warrant"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/venezuela-may-have-just-signed-its-own.html

Barron's Fake News on Kevin and Elizabeth Phillips and the Phillips Foundation

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/barrons-fake-news-on-kevin-and.html

News and Record's fake news on the megasite, which isn't in Greensboro or even Guilford

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/12/news-and-records-fake-news-on-megasite.html

"Goldman Sachs' top executives had over 1 million stock option grants due to expire worthless next week"

"...it looked like more than 1 million stock options granted to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s top executives and directors would expire out of the money.

The options to buy and sell the stock weren't worth anything, 

right up until they were, in an amazing twist of fate

that looks like Goldman Sachs rigged their own stock higher 

for the execs among others to cash out with millions

The awards were set to expire on Thanksgiving eve. But on Nov. 7, the night before Americans voted, they closed at $181.48, meaning it wouldn’t make sense for executives to exercise them.

Then Trump pulled off an upset victory and Goldman Sachs surged 16 percent through Thursday, allowing executives to exercise the options and sell shares to lock in gains.

It looks like some used the election to line their pockets

regardless of the winner

The stock closed at $209.63 on Thursday and traded for as much as $212.07 this week, the highest since July 2015.

What an amazing coincidence;

...Insiders at Goldman Sachs sold $205 million of stock since Nov. 8...

Think the SEC will investigate?

That’s three times more than the group has sold in any month for at least five years...

I wonder whose money who used to get the stock so far up

so these fine folks could have a little more Christmas money?

Not a bad week for Cohn, Blankfein, and Viniar...

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-11-18/goldman-insiders-underwater-options-salvaged-by-trump-election

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-19/if-everythings-so-awesome-why-are-goldman-insiders-dumping-stock-fastest-rate-5-year

If former New York Fed Chairman and Goldman Sach's alumni Stephen Friedman knew about secret loans to Goldman in 2008 and 2009, how did he not buy GS with unknown information?

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2012/10/if-former-new-york-fed-chairman-and.html

JPM CEO Jamie Dimon Securities Fraud and Insider Trading

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/06/jpm-ceo-jamie-dimon-securities-fraud.html

Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Wachovia and Perella Weinberg 

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2016/03/goldman-sachs-wells-fargo-wachovia-and.html

John Stumpf's Sarbanes Oxley Securities Fraud at Wells Fargo 

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/10/john-stumpfs-sarbanes-oxley-securities.html

Wells Fargo "Envision" Retirement Plan Incentive Bonus Fraud 

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2015/07/envision-retirement-plans.html

Too Connected to Jail

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2014/12/too-connected-to-jail.html

Who could have known?