New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman: A Man With Principles

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Mr. Schneiderrman must feel like an outsider. And this left me wondering, what has he done that is so wrong? There are 49 Attorneys General that are pressuring him to sign a deal that he obviously thinks is wrong. The Obama Administration wants him to tow the line. The big banks want him on their sides.

Now this tells you that something stinks when the Federal Reserve, the banks and 49 attorneys general are on one side of the fence, and one single attorney general is on the other side. Since when were the banks so generous and fair? The attorneys general are asking for $20 billion. This is a drop in the bucket.

On the surface this seems like a simple case. The banks were caught with their hands in the cookie jar. They were involved in shady foreclosures on millions of Americans. Furthermore, they sold questionable mortgage backed securities to investors. Let us not forget that some of these investors were American pension funds. This is money that hard working Americans were counting on to see them through their golden years. The state pension fund of Florida lost $62 billion. So the $20 billion that is on the table is not even in the ballpark.

As a settlement the banks want to write a check.  That's it. No further litigations. No guilty plea. No apologies. Everyone seems to think that this is a fabulous deal. Everyone but Eric Schneiderman. He smells a rat, and rightfully refused to sign.

Mr. Schneiderman wants to look beyond the robo-signing. He wants to investigate consumer and investor claims, and matters about securitization. His opponents want a broad immunity deal that would stop future lawsuits.

Now he is being accused of not playing ball. In retaliation he was kicked off the executive committee of the 50 attorneys general that was negotiating the settlement with the banks.

We hope that he doesn't cave in to the pressure.

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