Loretta Lynch has sworn in today as the first female African-American Attorney General. Lynch has now officially replaced problematic Attorney General Eric Holder who failed to make one serious criminal case against the Wall Street banks that brought the American economy to its knees in 2008. Holder not only had compelling documentary evidence of criminal fraud but an eye witness whistleblower willing to testify.
Lynch has had her own problems with enforcing the law on Wall Street. Lynch's decision not to prosecute HSBC for laundering money for drug cartels became an issue in her confirmation hearing. Lynch admitted she made the decision without hearing from important regulators and did not know about HSBC's tax evasion schemes.
But Lynch's nomination for Attorney General was not held up because she let a serial offender on Wall Street avoid prosecution, rather her confirmation stalled due to partisan bickering in the Senate. The bickering included dragging in a human trafficking bill vote related to abortion and turning Lynch's conclusion that President Obama's executive orders on immigration were legal into a litmus test for whether she was qualified for office.
Months later, after the issues were resolved, her nomination passed the Senate 56-43 and today she was sworn into office.
What never became a real issue during Lynch's confirmation battle is one that she will face almost immediately upon assuming office - Wall Street. In February then-Attorney General Eric Holder gave Department of Justice prosecutors a 90-day deadline to decide whether to bring cases against those responsible for the 2008 financial crisis. The deadline represents what will likely be the last bite at the apple for justice by the DOJ before the statute of limitations kicks in and Wall Street gets away with some of the greatest financial crimes in recent memory.
If Attorney General Lynch truly wants to leave her mark on history, she should do what her predecessor didn't and bring Wall Street to justice.
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