Goldman Dodges Damning Questions

Levin assaults firm on 'shitty deal,' Collins on responsibilities
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 27, 2010 11:08 AM CDT
Goldman Dodges Questions
Senate Investigations subcommittee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. questions Goldman Sachs executives during a hearing on Wall Street investment banks Tuesday, on Capitol Hill.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

If you enjoy high-quality squirming and stuttering, tune in to the Goldman Sachs Senate hearing. The assembled executives and former executives have been furiously dodging a series of tough questions from Carl Levin and Susan Collins. “Boy, that Timberwolf was one shitty deal,” Levin read from an internal Goldman email, then asked, “How much of that shitty deal did you sell your clients? Does that bother you at all?” Former mortgage chief Dan Sparks' reply? “I don't recall.”

Collins cut to the heart of the matter: “Do you have a duty to act in the best interests of your clients?” she asked. After a few attempts at evasion, Sparks responded, “I believe we have a duty to serve our clients well, ” a nonresponse that stunned the room, according to the Guardian. Collins also nailed the witnesses with an internal email in which executives schemed to deal more with less sophisticated investors who'd be easier to bet against.
(More Goldman Sachs stories.)

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