Thursday, August 20, 2009
Not what did he know, but why didn't he.
Phil Gramm, erstwhile senator and vice chairman of UBS' investment banking business is in a tight place right now. As Robert Scheer points out
In recent days yet another wealthy private customer of the Swiss-based banking conglomerate UBS admitted to criminal fraud in a growing parade of perp walks that could extend into the thousands. It is a case that threatens to ensnare former Sen. Phil Gramm, the Texas Republican who is vice chairman of UBS' investment banking business. Given the widespread involvement of UBS in what the Justice Department alleges were systematic efforts to violate U.S. tax laws, it must be asked: Did Gramm as a top executive have no inkling about what was going on?And Phil the Gramlin was not your ordinary bank exec. In addition to his knowledge of finance was his knowledge of government. He wrote or blocked more laws than most lawyers ever come across. Indeed, in his own words on ascending to the vice chairmanship,
"It will provide me with an opportunity to practice what I've always preached.... I have a strange combination of experiences that a lot of people don't have... knowledge of economics, a knowledge of government policy."Or to put it in English, he is more likely to have designed the tax evasion policy of UBS than been ignorant of it. Will Phil the Gramlin get his day in court? Or will he bite the cyanide like his friend Ken Lay? Stay tuned.
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