Courtesy of Pam Martens.
Donald Trump Speaking in Charlotte, North Carolina on October 26, 2016 Where He Endorsed Restoring the Glass-Steagall Act
Yesterday, CNBC announced that anonymous sources had told the cable business news outlet that Trump’s advisers were considering JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon for U.S. Treasury Secretary. The rumor nugget was quickly spread by other media outlets. The likelihood is that the rumor is coming from Jamie Dimon’s hyper-charged public relations machine rather than from Trump’s closest advisers.
Should Dimon get the nomination from Trump he would have to appear before the Senate Banking Committee for his confirmation hearing. He would be facing hostility from progressive Senate Democrats on the Committee like Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown and Jeff Merkley for overseeing a Wall Street mega bank that has garnered an unprecedented three felony counts from the U.S. Justice Department in just the past three years while Dimon took home massive pay and bonuses.
Two felony counts against the bank were for aiding and abetting the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, the largest Wall Street fraud in U.S. history, while last year’s felony count on May 20 was for the bank’s involvement in rigging foreign currency markets. Dimon also presided over the scandalous London Whale episode at the bank in 2012 where the side of the bank holding insured deposits, Chase Bank, allowed its traders in London to gamble in exotic derivatives and lose at least $6.2 billion of those deposits – proving beyond any doubt the need to restore the Glass-Steagall Act and separate banks holding insured deposits backed by the taxpayer from the high risk gambles of Wall Street’s investment banks.
Dimon is also well aware of what happened to former Citigroup executive Jack Lew when he went before the Senate Banking Committee for his confirmation hearing to become the current Treasury Secretary. Republicans dug up the fact that Lew had received a $940,000 bonus from Citigroup while the bank was existing on a lifeline from the U.S. taxpayer. Lew’s participation in an investment in an offshore tax haven was dredged up as was his role in the division of Citigroup that blew up the bank. After the Senate Banking Committee got through with Lew, Senator Bernie Sanders ravaged him further on the floor of the U.S. Senate, stating in part:
“Mr. President, the next Treasury secretary will face enormous challenges. Let me give you a few examples of what I mean. The next Treasury Secretary will play a central role in regulating and overseeing Wall Street and large financial firms. Let us never forget: as a result of the greed, recklessness, and illegal behavior on Wall Street, millions of Americans lost their jobs, homes, life savings, and ability to send their kids to college.
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