Justice Department Weighing Theories and Evidence in Subprime Crisis

Attorney General Michael Mukasey told reporters \Friday that lawyers at the Justice Department are reviewing information flowing in about the subprime crisis to see if there is a “larger criminal story.”

Mukasey said the department hasn’t determined whether the problems merit a response like the corporate fraud crackdown that began with the fall of Enron, Bloomberg reports.

"We're considering information that's coming in and possible legal theories,'' Mukasey said. "People are looking at the law to see to what and to whom it might apply.''

Mukasey said the facts are still coming in, reports The BLT: the Blog of Legal Times. Hundreds of charges have already been brought against individual defendants in mortgage fraud and other schemes under two Criminal Division programs, Operation Quick Flip and Operation Continuing Action, he said.