[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 176 (Wednesday, December 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H7286-H7287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1215
FBI AND WALL STREET
(Mr. PASCRELL asked and was given permission to address the House for
1 minute.)
[[Page H7287]]
Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I wrote to FBI Director James Comey in
September and requested the materials related to the FBI's
investigations into the 2008 financial crisis. Elizabeth Warren joined
me in this request, which we made as a result of the precedent the FBI
established in a high-profile case involving a Secretary of State's
emails. In citing ``intense public interest'' and ``the interest of
transparency,'' the FBI saw fit to provide extensive testimony to
Congress and hundreds of pages of documents that gave context to its
decision not to prosecute.
It has been 8 years since casino-style bets and a culture of fraud on
Wall Street crashed our economy and caused millions of Americans to
lose their jobs and their homes; yet no top executives were charged
with crimes, and many Americans have a gnawing sense that justice has
not been served. As of today, I have not received one word.
The DOJ has obtained financial settlements from major institutions,
like Citigroup and Bank of America.
The American public has a clear interest and stake in understanding
why the FBI did not pursue charges against the recommendations of its
own commission.
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