Yesterday, the Treasury Department released a much-anticipated plan to pare back the regulatory state that has neutered our economy over the past several years. Chief among Treasury's concerns was the role the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) has taken to over-regulate and generally terrorize the banking and financial services industries. Far from helping consumers, the CFPB has sought to stay in the headlines by demanding huge punitive fines in lieu of investigating financial services companies to death. Its current (and founding) director--Richard Cordray—seems to style himself as the Doc Holliday of the financial world. Never afraid of the limelight, he flaunts his independence, and uses it as a sword, rather than a shield, to attack his would-be detractors at every turn.
Of course, last Thursday, the world watched former FBI Director Jim Comey testify at a US Senate Intelligence Committee hearing about Russian interference in our electoral process. Much of the hearing centered around Comey's experience dealing with President Trump. Comey seemed to relish the attention. He detailed how Mr. Trump asked him for loyalty, but that he would only offer “honest loyalty.” He insinuated that Mr. Trump obstructed the FBI's investigation into Gen. Mike Flynn’s Russia ties when Mr. Trump merely stated that Gen. Flynn was a "good guy," and his hope that the FBI would eventually drop its investigation after Flynn's resignation. He took pride in recounting the political power he brandished by refusing to publicly disclose the president was not under investigation, even though he told Mr. Trump this privately on three occasions. And, he spoke of how he leaked confidential memos to the press through a 3rd party, in the hope that such political manipulation would lead to the appointment of a special counsel. Wrapping up much like a soap-opera episode, he divulged that “maybe if [he] were stronger,” he would have been able to stand up to President Trump. He said he felt defamed after being fired from his position, even though his actions and thirst for dramatic pronouncements have disrupted the US political process for well over a year.
So, what do Cordray and Comey have in common? Independence. They both consider themselves “independent” from traditional . . .
Read more at:
https://www.cameronkinvig.com/single-post/2017/06/12/Comey-and-Cordray-Illustrate-the-Dangers-of-Independence
