Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer called the Justice Department out on Monday night for its decision not to prosecute Goldman Sachs in an ongoing probe of the Wall Street giants that allegedly kicked off the 2008 financial crisis.
Spitzer, who is a former New York Attorney General, said on his talk show “Viewpoint” that “the Justice Department has simply not been there for the American public so far.” (Watch the interview here.)
“It’s inconceivable to me that the Justice Department would look at all this evidence and [not] do something,” Spitzer said on the program. “How can you sit there and do nothing unless you don’t understand your job as a prosecutor?”
Spitzer was talking with Rolling Stone contributing editor Matt Taibbi, who wrote a piece on his blog flaying the department and Attorney General Eric Holder for its non-prosecution of Goldman Sachs. Titled “Goldman Non-Prosecution: AG Eric Holder Has No Balls,” Taibbi tears into the Attorney General and says the decision boils down to pure politics.
The department announced two weeks ago that it would not pursue criminal charges against Goldman Sachs. This came after a two-year congressional investigation, headed by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), that resulted in a 500-some page report detailing all of the allegations against the firm.
On the program Tuesday, Spitzer criticized the department for not going after systemic corruption on Wall Street. He and Taibbi pointed to other high-profile cases the department has taken up and poured resources into — like Roger Clemens, who was found not guilty of perjury in June.
“They are meek and weak-kneed when it comes to the big institutions, and then they pick out these almost insignificant cases as if to prove they’re tough,” Spitzer said.
