Eric Holder announced his resignation this year and is set to leave behind a legacy of timidness and fear at the altar of big banks. But before he rides off into that sunset, he is trying to rewrite people’s last image of him and throw a last few faux punches at Wall Street.
Holder’s DOJ is looking to open prosecutions against a number of banks according to a recent New York Times article. These banks include Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and UBS among nearly a dozen or more others.
Eric Holder is hoping that he can leave people with a positive last memory and that will help him rewrite the years of failing to prosecute Wall Street bankers for what many have considered criminal wrongdoing.
It’s important to remember that Eric Holder worked for the law firm Covington & Burling. A firm that represents many of the same Wall Streeters he was charged with prosecuting.
Also likely is that once Holder leaves his current position he will simply return to his post at Covington & Burling.
This latest investigation into the big banks for potentially price fixing the Libor and the possibility of criminal charges being filed against some of the bankers responsible is a welcome change. But given Holder’s past, we have reason to be skeptical before rewriting the books and saying that this Attorney General fought hard for the American people.
It’s a good start. It’s just too bad it’s coming at the end of his tenure.
