Judge Andrew Napolitano Accuses Government / Treasury Department of Extortion

Absolutely must read & watch .. Just heard on Studio B: Judge Andrew Napolitano accuses the U.S. government under president Bush and the Treasury department under Henry Paulson of extortion.

According to Napolitano, banks that did not want or need TARP funds were threatened with a ‘multi-year and very public’ audit, which would almost certainly put them out of business as the result of an already-scared public making a run on the bank.

My mind immediately went back to the IndyMac failure, which, at the time was attributed directly to the actions of NY Senator Charles Schumer. Quoting from a July 7, 2008 LA Times article:

Here’s from the press release issued by IndyMac’s regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision: “The OTS has determined that the current institution, IndyMac Bank, is unlikely to be able to meet continued depositors’ demands in the normal course of business and is therefore in an unsafe and unsound condition. The immediate cause of the closing was a deposit run that began and continued after the public release of a June 26 letter to the OTS and the FDIC from Senator Charles Schumer of New York.

The letter expressed concerns about IndyMac’s viability. In the following 11 business days, depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion from their accounts.

“This institution failed today due to a liquidity crisis,” OTS Director John Reich said. “Although this institution was already in distress, I am troubled by any interference in the regulatory process.”

At the time, Schumer’s actions were considered ‘reckless and irresponsible’, but in the context of our nation’s current economic and political situation, the benefit of nine months of hindsight, and the horror of the last 72 days under the leadership of a decidedly anti-American administration, one can’t help but wonder if Schumer’s action was more calculated than reckless; designed to provide a crystal-clear example, in preparation for what was to come just two months up the road, of how quickly a financial institution could be taken down by a few simple words from government.

Conspiratorial? Perhaps, but not nearly as far-fetched as it may have seemed a few short months ago, because what we’re seeing now is the government trying to take control of these TARP-funded banks.

It needs to be said that there hasn’t been any confirmation of Napolitano’s claims yet. However, my personal opinion is that the judge’s credibility is good, and if he’s putting it out there it needs to be taken seriously.

Conservative Nation will be watching this story closely.

UPDATE: here is the video from Youtube:

-Cnation

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