Economic meltdown cases are being readied, Holder says
Attorney General Eric Holder says he expects to announce new cases related to the financial meltdown in the coming months.
Holder spoke with the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) about his plans. “My message is, anybody who’s inflicted damage on our financial markets should not be of the belief that they are out of the woods because of the passage of time. If any individual or if any institution is banking on waiting things out, they have to think again,” he said.
According to the story, recent disclosures indicate the government is pursuing prosecutions related to suspected wrongdoing in the mortgage-backed securities industry. The government is reportedly investigating JPMorgan Chase for conduct related to such securities, as well as for alleged manipulation of the energy market, the article says.
Holder didn’t specify whether the cases would be civil or criminal, but he did say prosecutors would pursue the types of cases most likely to work in court. Asked whether JPMorgan and its leader James Dimon are in the government crosshairs, Holder told the newspaper: “No individual, no company is above the law. We don’t investigate companies based on who a CEO is, but we don’t avoid investigating companies based on who the CEO is, either.”
