Goldman Sachs The FCIC

Anyone actually surprised by Goldman Sachs refusing to cooperate with the government's Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission?  If so, I understand solar-powered flashlights are looking really attractive as investment vehicles.

Referring to its conduct as "abysmal," "unacceptable," "egregious," and "disturbing," the panel created to probe the causes of the financial crisis slapped Goldman Sachs with a subpoena on Friday for its "very deliberate effort to run out the clock" in failing to turn over key documents and make company executives available for interviews with federal investigators.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission turned to the subpoena after "multiple requests" and "months" of stalling by Wall Street's most profitable firm to turn over requested information.

The panel's vice chairman, former Rep. Bill Thomas, said during a conference call with reporters on Monday that the months-long delay appeared to resemble "an agreed upon strategy." The panel's chairman, former California state treasurer Phil Angelides, reminded reporters that the panel has been tasked by Congress to investigate the roots of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, adding that the investigative panel wouldn't allow Goldman to continue its "especially egregious" tactic of delaying the release of key documents.

"We're not going to allow the American people to be played for chumps here," Angelides said.

Too late by several years there, Ace.  Enjoy your consolation prize where Goldman is still making chumps out of the American people, not to mention billions of dollars in pure profit and pure chutzpah...enough to literally bury the FCIC under hundreds of millions of documents and say "If you can prove what we did at all, then we deserve to be forced to pay up.  Good luck with enough crap that you'll never get through it.  We win."

And they do win.  They always win. Best line from Phil there?

"I suspect they're spending more on their lawyers than we have in our budget," Angelides said of Goldman.

No shit, Sherlock.  Hell, I expect each lawyer is getting more money than your budget individually.  You think a subpoena will do anything to these guys?  You're stupid and high.  They invented this game, and now you get to watch every move you make already countered by the best defense billions can buy, while Congress gave you guys...eight million, which is approximately how much Ben Franklin toilet paper Goldman goes through in an hour.

Good luck there, guys.  You can do it!