Who's manning the TARP desk?
By Anupama Narayanswamy Apr 10 2009 5:54 p.m. 17 commentsLess than half a dozen people are responsible for making the final decisions about which banks get part of the $700 billion in bailout money available through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, according to Department of Treasury officials. In response to a Freedom of Information Act request made by the Sunlight Foundation in January for the members of the TARP Investment Committee, a FOIA officer recently responded with just four names, including Assistant Secretary, Neel Kashkari; Chief Investment Officer, James Lambright; Acting Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets, Karthik Ramanathan and Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, Ralph Monaco, all holdovers from the Bush administration.
As of March 27, 2009, Treasury had disbursed $303.4 billion of the $700 billion in TARP funds, and yet taxpayers don't know who is making those decisions. The most recent Government Accountability Office report critiques Treasury's process as not being sufficiently transparent. In response to the report and news stories Treasury issued a statement saying, Transparency and accountability are central to ensuring that taxpayer funds are spent wisely.
Yet even finding out how many people make decisions has required a FOIA request and multiple phone calls with dozens of offices in the federal government. And I still don't have a definitive answer. According to a press release from November, there are two more names on the list: Don McLellan, Capital Purchase Program Manager and Howard Scheitzer, Chief Operating Officer.
In a brief phone conversation, Ralph Monaco, one of the members on the committee said, I don't think there are supposed to be more people than these. Sometimes if they aren't available others are appointed. But according to a Government Accountability Office official, a few of these spots on the TARP Investment Committee are filled on an interim basis because they are administrative appointees and some may need Senate Confirmation. As of yet, the Obama administration still hasn't named those appointees.
According to a report by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the applications made by banks is first reviewed by the one of the federal banking agencies which includes the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision (banks regulated by the FDIC have their applications reviewed by FDIC officials, ans so on). The evaluation process begins with an FBA consultation which includes a review of the bank's most recent financial statements and quarterly data. Once approved these applications are passed on to the TARP Investment Committee, which is made up of senior Treasury officials on financial markets, economic policy, financial institutions and financial stability. If it passes this committee it goes on to the Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability who has the final say.
I'm trying to get a comprehensive list of people involved in the decision making in all these banking agencies and so far I've received a list of names handling TARP related applications only from the OTS which is available online. OCC's press person said, We are keeping the names confidential and not reveal the names keeping what we have told other reporters as well.
I'm still waiting to hear back from the Federal Reserve and the FDIC spokesperson said, they don't have a list they can make available. Still digging, more on these soon.
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I've been trying to tell everyone, but the TARP money is covering entitlements for the year.I've got 2200 pages of evidence and know what I am talking about here.Social Security got privatized some years ago. My best guess is 1987. My proof goes as far back as 1991.Fidelity Investments is receiving or has received Social Security money in my name since 1991 . They happened to mess up and start sending me proxy notices in 2006.I am truly the only person in America who has been on Social Security ( disability) , got off because I could work WITH MY DISABILITY, but got sick again with the same illness long after the protective five year rule.I worked eleven years so I got penalized, like you have never seen before.For my efforts, I promise I have been severely abused.But the bottom line is this....AIG's largest shareholder is FMR, LLC. FMR,LLC owns Fidelity Investments. They also own Community CCRx, my Part D company who has extorted me to remain covered this year. Community CCRx has two of me in their system.THEN, I have documents that show that my surrendered account became " activated" in the INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS OFFICE.* Think London AIG please.... because FMR,LLC is the single largest shareholder of AIG at 5% or at least 4 billion publicly.Investigations were stopped across every law enforcement agency out there and I sit here holding a fraudulent Inspector General report. This report was confirmed as fraud by Special Agent Roland Maye on June 13,2008 after I personally telephoned the Inspector General at his desk.I believe it's pretty reasonable to assume that AIG is holding the full faith and credit of the United States government hostage.Want proof?I got it( you have my private email... use it if you're interested please.)I am telling you that I've heard AIG people say that the older employees have to stay to fix this mess. Well, TARP people have to stay too.They know where MY BODY is buried and I WANT MY IDENTITY BACK PRONTO>Fidelity, Community CCRx and SSA created a second me that has truly due to my screaming and yelling for four years, caused the entire house of cards to fall in.I got all the details and the time line will floor you.
Wow!Just wow! How Obama can keep the same people who royally screwed the first 350 bn disbursement of TARP on is beyond comprehensible.And over at DOJ the same Bush US attorneys are still in place.Who among you will be surprised when just before 2010 elections Dem congress people are going to come under US Attorneys scrutiny.Then what is mighty " O" going to do then fire 'em.I am with Barney Frank Obama thinks he can charm decency into everyone.
[...] TPM, we have Real Time Investigations noting that just four people — all holdovers from the Bush administration — are “manning the TARP desk“: Less than half a dozen people are responsible for [...]
WTF is going on in this debacle they call a bailout? I lost a ton of money which was slated for retirement.Where can I apply for a bailout?
It's the Classist mode of government we, as Americans, warmly refer to as Democracy. You have a bunch of big fat hogs in suits scrambling to figure out how they're going to stay in power. Who cares who's in dire straits as far as the banking industry goes? I want to see "bailout" money going directly toward programs that are required to accountedly lend money out to the public for small business ventures, if not directly to tax-paying citizens who are un- and under-employed in a severely distressed economy. But this will never happen because the rich have got to stay rich and, Obama or not, they're the ones pulling on the marionette strings.
...And furthermore, here at the forefront of the information age, why is it that we cannot manage to organize an electronic election (maybe by SSN or Fed Tax ID, or etc) where elections can be hosted from the privacy of our own homes. This would eliminate a good deal of mass-suspected fraudulent vote counting as well as limiting profiling in this regard. And for that matter, controversial decisions of such magnitude as $100 BIL bailout policies can be voted on nationally by the public, eliminating the pitfalls of our supposed representative system of government. In very literal terms, "Power to the People!" Again, those who control the power and the money in this country will never allow such fair and equitable ideas to develop.
More change we can't believe in.
http://cop.senate.gov/reports/library/report-040709-cop.cfm* - you should also change the name of your blog to the following:"the unreality time report"
Did anybody have a high school Government class which actually showed how this can happen?? At least I know that I have been brainwashed-how about you?
It wouldn't surprise me one bit if they're all related in some way to Goldman. Matt Taiibi ties all the strings together here: http://cli.gs/WWprnb
What could Obama be thinking? An epic failure on Wall Street, addressed by the epic failure that was the Bush Administration in large measure by employing the same people who cause the problem in the first place, and when all this falls into Obama's lap, he thinks, "I'm with those guys" or "Let's not change a thing, what could go wrong?" A lot of very smart people have been telling him that there is no pony in that big pile of shit, and it has been obvious for some time that they are right. It's time to clean the stables.
TARP is nothing more than the partial 'payout' of the greatest financial conspiracy perpetuated on mankind. This whole thing is a scam ! Not only was there not a specific mandate that the funds be distributed as loans or other stimulus, but there is a very specific provision in TARP that allows recipient Banks to deposit funds received in the Federal Reserve Bank where they will earn interest on YOUR MONEY. This is a complete scam,being pulled-off right under your noses ! TARP is the 'coup de grace' against America, the final big theft before there is nothing left. The BIS have it within their power to loosen the BASEL II regulations and stimulate the global economy, but it is not in their interests to do so. THIS IS A CONSPIRACY TO IMPLEMENT A GLOBAL MONETARY AUTHORITY THAT WILL BENEFIT THE SAME PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN THE ARCHITECTS OF THIS FINANCIAL COLLAPSE. Let's 'name names' of the 'players' involved: Alan Greenspan; Ben Bernanke; Timothy Geithner; Henry Paulson; Jaime Caruana; Evelyn de Rothschild; Michael Camdessus; GHW Bush; GW Bush; Tony Blair; Gordon Brown. Review history, connect-the-dots. THIS SCAM HAS BEEN 'IN PROCESS' FOR ALMOST 25 YEARS. Read analysis by Bruce Wiseman for the truth. YOU ARE BEING ROYALLY SCAMMED BY THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA AND THE 'PUNDITS' ALL OF WHOM ARE COMPLICIT IN FAILING TO INVESTIGATE AND FAILING TO REPORT THE TRUTH.The choice is yours: FREEDOM or SERFDOM ??You are the electorate. You have the power to change. The choice is YOURS.
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