I like that he didn’t put up with Donald’s shit, but hold him somewhat responsible for Donald being in office.
Just finished it a couple weeks ago. It’s easy to imagine why a lawyer would find it interesting.
It highlights a handful of dynamic systems whose interactions have weakened the DOJ vs corporate wrongdoing.
- the revolving door between govt & its well-financed enemies: DOJ prosecutors negotiating settlements with law-breaking companies wish to appear “reasonable” while interacting with their opponents – their likely future colleages – so they pull their punches and avoid going after actual human wrongdoers
- the DOJ’s appetite for a serious fight fluctuates with the tastes of “front office” personnel (the political appointees at the top of the organization, e.g. Sessions)
- the skills needed to wage a major legal battle successfully are best acquired by actually waging major legal battles; as those opportunities become fewer, those skills wither on the vine
From memory, I’d say that over 90% of the star DOJ players named in the book change sides to white-collar defense.
It is fascinating what goes on, the legal dynamics and personal career opportunities that play out as government prosecutors, in their button down white oxford shirts, have to learn to dance w/o stepping on toes with the slip-showing hussies of WS’s board rooms. And of course let’s not forget ‘To Big To Jail’. Read Bill Black’s The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One. He got me hooked on it all, bit of a street talking wise guy with all the university credentials on his office wall. You would think it would be every prosecutor’s dream to go after the banksters, and the how and why of decision making during and after the GR.
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