WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton broke with Democrats in Congress yesterday and stuck up for Goldman Sachs executives who were cussed out, grilled and repeatedly accused of breaking the law during a Senate hearing this week.
“I’m not at all sure they violated the law,” Clinton said.
Securities and Exchange Commission lawyers accuse Goldman of conflict of interest for not disclosing their position on certain investments to clients who held the opposite position on the same investments.
“I don’t think it is self-evident” that Goldman broke the law, Clinton said, because all of Goldman’s clients had “access to the same information.”
That’s not to say Clinton endorses the practice highlighted by Goldman or opposes proposed Democratic legislation to regulate it.
“There was no underlying merit to the transactions and that’s what I think we need to look at,” said Clinton. “I think too much of this stuff has no economic purpose no matter who wins or loses.”
President Obama, meanwhile, again blamed Wall Street for the financial meltdown while barely mentioning Washington’s role in the mess.
“We had a system where some on Wall Street could take wild risks without fear of failure, because they could keep the profits and you had to cover their losses,” he said.
“Heads, they win — tails, you lose.”