Time to Move from Occupy Wall Street to Prosecute Wall Street

MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

In his new book, available from Truthout with a contribution, Glenn Greenwald states it bluntly: "The central promise of the American founding - that all would stand equal before the rule of law no matter what other political and economic inequality was allowed - has been abandoned."

Moreover, the ruling elite and the wealthiest Americans have become exempt from a uniform standard of justice, Greenwald argues in "With Liberty and Justice for Some":

Instead, the United States now has the exact opposite of a single set of laws before which everyone is equal. It has an entrenched two-tiered system of justice: the country's most powerful political and financial elites are virtually immunized from the rule of law, empowered to commit felonies with full-scale impunity and to act without any constraints, while the politically powerless are imprisoned with greater ease and in far greater numbers than in any other country on the planet.

According to an October 19 Reuters article: "Citigroup Inc will pay $285 million to settle charges that it defrauded investors who bought toxic housing-related debt that the bank bet would fail, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Wednesday."

Please notice the word defrauded in the description of Citigroup's action. The law is divided into basically two areas: civil and criminal. Defraud generally is an action that falls into the criminal class of law. Throughout the follow-up to the near collapse of the American economy caused by Wall Street's defrauding, mismanagement, malfeasance and greed, the basic reaction of the Obama administration has been to let the perpetrators of a crime so large it defies comprehension go free. Not only have they gone free, but many of them are still in charge of nearly monopolistic financial entities that, in many practices, amount to - at least in part - criminal enterprises that gouge consumers and defraud investors alike.

Yes, a few "guppies" have been prosecuted, and financial firms like Citigroup have paid some fines that they will just recover in write-offs and more financial scams. It's not just a slap on the wrist; it's giving the appearance of punishment, when it is really no skin off the hide of the criminally negligent banks. Furthermore, Citigroup is claiming -- and the SEC isn't disputing -- that it clears them of liability for other charges against the bank. It's a public relations move by the SEC, not a finding with any legal repercussions - for the firm or for individuals.

For weeks, under orders from Mayor Bloomberg - and with the likely cooperation of the FBI - protesters have been treated like criminals by a highly militarized police force. In essence, the New York Police Department has become a publicly paid security force to protect the "Masters of the Universe" on Wall Street, who have committed unfathomable crimes against the nation.

If you cash a bum check in many states - even if it's just for a few dollars in groceries - you can go to jail for years ("three strikes and your out"). But if you bring down an economy and keep engaging in fraud and high-risk schemes with other people's money, causing trillions of dollars in losses, you are a member of the privileged elite who enjoys a separate system of justice: one that lets you go free to pillage again.

Greenwald gets it right: "Courtrooms, indictments, and prisons are there for ordinary Americans, not for the ruling classes, and virtually never for our highest political leaders."

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