Former Goldman Sachs Banker Behind WSJ Smear Campaign Against Elizabeth Warren
Mary Kissel readies another attack against Warren.
Listen to Kissel attack Warren
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By Zach Carter
WASHINGTON -- A Wall Street Journal editorial writer who has been closely involved with the paper's recent attacks on Elizabeth Warren is a former Goldman Sachs banker. The same editorial writer, Mary Kissel, is readying another piece critical of Warren and the new consumer agency, according to a source familiar with the coming article.
Like most major newspapers, the Journal does not disclose the authors of its editorials. Kissel recently appeared on the John Batchelor radio show as a representative of the Journal's editorial board do discuss Warren, and repeated the main arguments used in the editorials.
The editorials paint both Warren and the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as an immensely powerful, unaccountable organization. The nascent agency is assuming the consumer protection duties currently exercised by regulators at the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
The author, Mary Kissel, worked for Goldman between 1999 and 2002 as a fixed income research and capital markets specialist.
Kissel is listed on the Journal's website as a member of the editorial staff and her bio includes her time at Goldman Sachs and notes that she worked for the company in both New York and London.
On Wednesay, Warren testified before a House subcomittee, providing 34 pages of written answers while submitting to two-and-a-half hours of aggressive questioning from congressional Republicans, who deployed talking points similar to those used in the recent Journal editorials.
"There has definitely been an uptick in attacks on her and on the agency over the past few weeks, it's hard to imagine it hasn't been well-coordinated by somebody," said a source close to Warren. "The smear campaign by The Wall Street Journal's editorial board this week includes the most unfactual and outrageous hit pieces on her yet. If it's true that the author of the editorials and Goldman Sachs coordinated on them, they should both be exposed and called to account."
Mar 20, 2011 at 2:58 PM
Reader Comments (13)
- P. J. O'Rourke:
So like another I can think of - this position may be her life's "claim to fame".
In any case, in an AMERICAN democracy where the system of checks and balances is critical to protect the PEOPLE's interests, there should NEVER be a government office or group that operates without Congressional oversight. None, ever.
And, there is someone close by you, Bail, that thinks labor needs a strong government regulator...and someone else thinks railroads need a strong government regulator...and someone else thinks the environment needs a strong government regulator...and on and on and on a thousand times over until we have...The United States government today, not the one created in 1776!
Who got burned in the financial fiasco? The smart operators who realized what was going on and avoided the game? No. The quick-buck artists who realized what was going on but thought they could get in and out before the house of cards collapsed? Some of them, yes, many, no. Or, the people who trusted that the government regulators would not let something like this happen? Most, if not all of them, yes!
http://www.hedgefund.net/publicnews/default.aspx?story=12314
[snip]
Cerberus Capital Management’s hedge fund assets that were put into locked-up funds reportedly were hit by the natural and manmade tragedies in Japan.
The hedge fund investments in what were called special vehicles, had about 30% exposure to Japan, according to a MarketWatch report.
I can't see how capitalizing any random words in this comment can make it more persuasive.
I really did not realize that. Thanks for the information. My bankers must be the lone exceptions. If you would like, I will forward their names and address to you.
For the record, my primary bank (which is BoA) is in the same building as my employer, and for that geographic accident I get free checking, free use of 3 ATM machines in the building and thousands of others across the country, a no-fee credit card I pay off every month (hence it's free), I use their excellent website to pay my bills (I haven't written a check in 5+ years), and I have a savings account there, because it's so easy to make deposits and transfers. I have a 401K (elsewhere) and happily, no mortgage. I'm middle class. I don't believe anyone's work is worth a 10 million dollar salary, and anyone who's worth over $100 million and is still working is frankly just not from my tribe and my ability to empathize with them in any way just isn't there.
Disband the FED, put us back on the gold standard and to hell with the banks, actually I should say, to hell with these Gambling Casinos that claim to be banks.
I believe the problem with big banks (and it is by no means only a problem in the banking iindustry) is they are so heavily regulated and overseen by government that government has become the primary entity to whom they think are are responsible to satisfy - not their customers.
Remove several layers of regulations and rules and force the banking industry to be responsible to their customers instead of regulators and competition for those customers will change the way banks do business.
All the laws, rules, regulations, and regulators imposed on the industry since the 30s haven't seemed to eliminate the immoral and unethical behavior on the part of some bankers.
The brokerage companies and investment bankers all must have "compliance officers" on staff just to keep up with the regulations. This is a double-edged sword...by having to be so involved and up-to-date with the myriad, changing regulations, it becomes easier to figure out ways to circumvent them!
Simple, basic rules requiring disclosure and transparancy and against fraud and deceptive practices keep other industries honest. Why should we think the banking industry is any different?