Sen. Levin Gets Testy With Goldman Sachs Executives: "Boy That Timberwolf Was One Shitty Deal"

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Summary Clip - Part 1

The Goldman Sachs Hearings: 7 Cantankerous Hours In A 5 Minute Super Clip

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Part 2 - Related:

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Goldman SEC Case

LIVE BLOG by Dealbreaker

* 10:09: Carl: “Goldman Sachs treats clients like objects (of profit).” Jackie Treehorn, a former prop trader, was the first to pioneer this model at the firm.

* 10:16: Goldman made money off its shorts. Dun Dun Dun.

* 10:26: Apparently Goldman didn’t just hurt its clients, it hurt everyone in the world. Take a moment right now to show us on the doll where Goldman touched you.

* 10:28: Going to interrupt Carl for a moment to announce that Melissa Francis gave birth last night to her second son (with husband Wray). The kid’s name is Greyson Alexander Thorn. May he grow up to be a Goldman banker.

* 10:32: Senator Susan Collins: I’m very discreet…but I will haunt your dreams.

* 10:38: According to Suzy, we’re not here to celebrate the fact that Goldman Sachs made some money during the crisis. Which means I’ve made a terrible mistake. Reader poll: cancel the stripper cake, even though she’s already inside? Or just say fuck it? Why should this lady get to say what’s what?

* 10:40: Senator Claire McCaskill is just going to throw words out there, arrange them in any way you like, does: bets, odds, bookies, tranches, waterfalls, golden showers, clown-facing, pit bosses, Las Vegas, street gamblers, KGB.

* 10:44: SENATOR MARK PRYOR: “I MAY NOT UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING ABOUT EVERYTHING ON WALL STREET.”

* 10:47: Daniel Sparks, former mortgages department head and PMD: He only meant to stay at Goldman for two years. But he couldn’t let it go. There was something about Goldman he couldn’t shake. Something…special.

* 10:51: Josh Birnbaum, Former Managing Director, Structured Products Group Trading: Wharton grad. That is all.

* 10:56: Michael “Swenny” Swenson, Managing Director, Structured Products Group Trading: [guy behind left shoulder is just gonna play dead until the Model 5000 GS employee is finished]

* 11:02: Fabrice “Fab” Tourre: FINALLY. The only reason we’re here today. Reading of this statement. Unlike the Toyota hearings, no translator necessary. Won’t get good until he’s performing off the cuff but so far, I sense a ‘tude, and I like it. If he wants to make us really happy he’ll whip out a cigarette when he’s done and light up.

* 11:12: Before Carl finishes this little speech, is someone going to tell him that Sparks hasn’t found the email in the 938,918 binder he was supposed to be looking for yet?

* 11:13: WHOEVER CAME UP WITH THIS PLAN FOR SPARKS TO JUST NEVER FIND THE RIGHT PAGE IS A GENIUS. LOOKIN’ AT YOU LUCAS.

* 11:16: Sparks: Senator Levin, I literally have no idea what you’re talking about. No joke, no offense, I straight up have no idea what you’re saying.

* 11:17: Senator Levin: IF I POINT AND SAY THE PHRASE ‘HOW DO YOU GUYS GET COMFORTABLE WITH’ OVER AND OVER AGAIN MAYBE AT SOME POINT IT WILL MAKE SENSE [aid whispering in Levin's ear: "Sir, things are unraveling, it's getting away from us." Levin: "Shut it bitch."] HOW DO YOU GUYS GET COMFORTABLE [FINGER POINTS] GET COMFORTABLE [FINGER POINTS] GUYS [FINGER POINTS] COMFORTABLE?!?

* 11:24: This is how it’s going to be. Every five to six minutes, Carl’s going to pick a new phrase to shout over and over, in the form of a question that people will have no idea how to answer. First phrase was “how do you guys get comfortable with,” next up, “crap pools.” Crap pools. Crap pools. Crap pools.

Sparks: I don’t…

CL: Crap pools.

Sparks: Sir?

CL: Crap pools.

Sparks: Um…

CL: Crap pools.

Sparks : All I’m saying…

CL: Crap pools?

Sparks: Mr. Chairman I’m just…

CL: Crap pools?

Sparks: Sir?

CL: Crap pools!

Sparks: We…

CL: Crap pools!

Sparks: I’m sorry?

CL: Crap pools! Knock, knock.

Sparks: Who’s there?

CL: CRAP POOLS!

Sparks: Look…

CL: Crap pools! Let me tell you a little story about a man named Crap pools! Crap pools! Even before you start. That was a preemptive Crap pools. Just know I have a whole bag of ‘Crap pools’ with your name on it.

11:30: Phrase # 3: “Shitty deals”

11:33: Carl: Who’s Tom Montag? Who’s Dan Sparks? Who’s Lloyd Blankfein? Who’s Carl Levin? WHERE AM I?

Continue reading at Dealbreaker...

Comments

[James H]

I watched this live. Cracked me up. After talking for a couple of minutes about "crap pools" (Levin must have said "crap pools" about eight times), then they went on to the "shitty deal" email. Levin must have said "shitty deal" about 27 times. Will it make the nightly news? Will they bleep it out? Too funny either way.

[James Street]

It's not about humor, it's about power, prison terms and firing squads.

For 600 million dollars, I could do five minutes of fry time, on national television in front of 100 Senators, standing on my head, and I presume you could also.

But I wouldn't do 20 years in prison or face a firing squad.

It's about power and who wields it. The hour is getting late for America incorporated and that's not funny, to me at least.

[DailyBail]

i think levin's comment will make the nightly news...

that's my bet...

[James H]

James Street, no need to tell me what's funny and what's not. I haven't slept right in 18 months because of my increasing awareness of this shit. If some senator is talking about Goldman's "shitty deal" in the hallowed halls of congress, well, that's just a little gleaming bit of cubic zirconium in the great shit pile of American politics. 18 months of not sleeping right and countless mini-strokes just *thinking* about all the people I'd like to choke... I don't mind having a laugh now and then.

I see your point, of course, but i'm already there with you.

[DailyBail]

it was funny...and to me it IS about humor on some level...when you deal with this stuff closely, it affects you...and since we aren't getting perp walks we must have, for the guilty, embarassing moments at a minimum...

[James Street]

Humor is necessary for sanity, agreed.

I laugh at this stuff also, even though I know that it is deadly serious.

Take a look at Charlie Chaplin laughing at Hitler. It's hard to laugh along with him because we know too much. But most of us laugh anyway ;)

Laughing at Hitler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VruioFzIwg&NR=1

[DailyBail]

nice clip...

[tss]

keep in mind; all this is about the profits made by GS on what they themselves call a shitty deal, nobody has mentioned, or looked into, the profits made by the GS Individuals in their own personal accounts. IMHO, its the gains in Individual accounts that would outweigh the huge gains that GS made, it were possible to ever find this out
i would think that all of them considered their own accounts as their main income source, despite the multi-million bonuses they get from GS

[DailyBail]

you make a good point tss...we have looked into the personal profits and trading of stephen friedman...but he is but one goldman insider to watch...

http://dailybail.com/home/is-stephen-friedman-guilty-of-insider-trading.html

http://dailybail.com/home/how-the-ny-fed-under-stephen-friedman-tim-geithner-pressured.html

[James H]

COWARDS WITH NO BALLS!!!! You delete Kenbot!!! LOL

Daily Bail cowards lol
---------------------------------------
I just did a search for "cowards with no balls". After two pages of results, I stopped counting.

[Zarathustra]

Ken is pissed because he used to spam this site night and day. Ken, tell us who you are and maybe one of DB's readers is close enough to meet you for coffee.

[DailyBail]

the clinton clip (the tapper interview) is pretty decent...i'll post it somehwere...thx...

after watching the whole thing at least he admits his mistake...and i didn't vote for clinton either time...

perot in '92 and i didn't vote in '96...

[James H]

.he doesn't try very often anymore...once or twice per day, tops...
--------------------------------
I don't know if this was meant to be a joke, but it made me laugh.

[James H]

I saw some Summers interview last week and he was asked about CFMA and Summers grunted out something about CDS not being a big issue back then and no one foresaw the problems... and of course I was thinking... Brooksley Born you jackass!

[James H]

Here he is. The Kraken awakes!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIsBekFbIRE

[Zarathustra]

It makes me sick to hear Summers lie and spin the truth. What an ass! Don't forget, he works for Volcker and the Group of Thirty. He talks and looks like he is on painkillers. He is like an evil zombie. It makes me sick, Barry is a community organizer. Guys like Summers and Bernanke must laugh at how stupid Americans are to have voted for Barry. I have said from the beginning, the Group of Thrity is running this show for the central bankers.

[DailyBail]

i had to google kraken...

the question is why couldn't the pbs news hour host have remembered to say Brooksley Born, Mr. Summers, you are a jackass...and frontline has proven it...

[Zarathustra]

That is why Obama is supporting the Geithner rules, oh wait, I mean the Volcker Rules.

[Zarathustra]

You have to look at Volcker as the old ship captain and stop watching the guys shoveling the coal into the furnaces. We don’t know who the super captain is giving the captain his orders, probably someone with the title of lord.

[Zarathustra]

p.s. The Volcker Rule and Rules are clearly stated on the Group of Thirty website. At least the ones they want us to know about.

[James H]

the Kraken.

Have you ever seen a really bad (but good) Irish sit-com called Father Ted? There's an old priest who drinks all the time (whiskey, gin, floor polish -- it doesn't matter). Anyway, the old priest is always sitting around in a stupor or asleep, but one day he wakes up and the head honcho priest makes some smart ass remark about "The Kraken awakes!".

I know, way OT.

[DailyBail]

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/father-ted

you mean this?...can't say that i've seen it...

[DailyBail]

i get your point about volcker zara...but my point remains...volcker is used by obama just for PR...and the volcker rule...glass steagal lite is MIA on the hill...

[James H]

This is it! I'd never searched it before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8KisK2zBWE

[DailyBail]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmfLS1hWO94&feature=related

here's a bit more of kraken

[John]

UPDATE: (on shitty deals)

Goldman loses bid to end lawsuit over risky CDO

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/21/us-goldman-cdo-lawsuit-idUSBRE82K16Q20120321

[snip]

The decision by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in New York keeps alive a hedge fund's claims over a $2 billion offering of collateralized debt obligations, amid intense scrutiny over Goldman's activities before and after the 2008 financial crisis.

Marrero said the hedge fund Dodona I LLC may pursue nearly all its claims against Goldman, including that the Wall Street bank recklessly or intentionally sold the Hudson Mezzanine Funding CDOs to offload subprime risk on unsuspecting investors.

"Goldman's sudden -- and prescient -- shift to reducing subprime risk supports the inference that it possessed some unique insight" about the "bittersweet potion" of CDOs it was selling, Marrero wrote in a 64-page decision.

[john]

DB, this is so fucking appropriate...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdn3O6aaMNc&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_932523

maybe even on the front page here...

[Brian Mallon]

Entertaining? Yes. It's a great little show, and Levin is a fine PT Barnum. I see a lot of indignant scolding going on. What is not apparent is a genuine effort to uncover or prosecute criminal activity. And the best thing about Senate hearings is that after they have 'heard' -nothing is 'done'. Still not ONE prosecution from Team Obama. ...But the grandstanding is grand.