Treasury Seeks Authority to Buy Mortgages Unchecked by Courts

09/21/08

[TigerLikesRooster]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=ae6b6P1L8E_E&refer=home

[TigerLikesRooster]

I think we are under the financial version of martial law.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[ExSES]

I think we are under the financial version of martial law.

That about sums it up! The best of extremely bad options!

[GOPJ]

Grandiosity is easy on someone’s else’s dime...

[bert]

That is correct. The legal profession has been bypassed in the preliminary stage to allow the Gordian knot to be untied. Had this not happened, lawyers would have never sorted it out in this eon.

[babbabooey]

Is it just me, or did the mkt rally thur/fri remind anyone of something from The Phantom Menace, "So this is how liberty dies: with thunderous applause."

From an earlier thread:

“Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.”

"Cowabonga! ... we’re about to see 700 years of common law precedence and written law regarding contracts thrown under the fascist bus."<

Emperor Paulpatine better not have a clone army in his back pocket. (oh wait, The Secret Service is an arm of the Treasury!)

[TigerLikesRooster]

Some big and powerful players watched the Star Wars series and draw the wrong lesson.:-)

Somewhere in D.C. or Wall St., we have ex-flower-child-turn Darth Vader's.

[Travis McGee]

Section 2:

(a) Authority to Purchase.—The Secretary is authorized to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase, on such terms and conditions as determined by the Secretary, mortgage-related assets from any financial institution having its headquarters in the United States.

(b) Necessary Actions.—The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation:

(1) appointing such employees as may be required to carry out the authorities in this Act and defining their duties;

(2) entering into contracts, including contracts for services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, without regard to any other provision of law regarding public contracts;

(3) designating financial institutions as financial agents of the Government, and they shall perform all such reasonable duties related to this Act as financial agents of the Government as may be required of them;

(4) establishing vehicles that are authorized, subject to supervision by the Secretary, to purchase mortgage-related assets and issue obligations; and

(5) issuing such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to define terms or carry out the authorities of this Act.

The Treasury Secretary can buy broadly defined assets, on any terms he wants, he can hire anyone he wants to do it and can appoint private sector companies as financial deputies of the US government. And he can write whatever regulation he thinks are needed.

Now here is the worst of it, emphasis mine:

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

[Travis McGee]

“The legal profession has been bypassed in the preliminary stage to allow the Gordian knot to be untied.”

That was Hitler and the Nazis’ justification for their seizure of power, which was “legal” at first.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Somebody would get awfully rich again. I hope Soros would not go into this, but I doubt that he will pass this opportunity.

[bert]

Perhaps, but Germany did not have the tyranny of lawyers that we have.

[Wolfie]

I think we are under the financial version of martial law.

With Monopoly money as the currency.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Accountable to NO ONE. NO ONE! Absolute power corrupts... you know the rest.

[Buckhead]

Not sure Congress can grant the authority to be exempt from law.

[rbg81]

Ok—I’m listening to Paulsen on Fox News Sunday. He’s not denying that this bailout would be used to buy assets from Hedge funds (just saying that is “not the intent”).

This whole thing stinks on ice. At the end of the day, I bet this is about bailing out the guys who make the BIG political contributions.

[DownInFlames]

Congress cannot do this. Go read Article III of the US Constitution. We need to throw these MoFo’s in prison.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Yes, those with connections can definitely sneak in, and there is no recourse to hold them accountable.

[ninonitti]

Yes, those with connections can definitely sneak in, and there is no recourse to hold them accountable.

Sneak in? The way this law is written they could drive day-glo orange garbage trucks full of this junk paper into the Treasury in full view of the media at high noon on Monday and emerge with fresh stacks of Federal Reserve Notes and no one could do a damn thing about it.

Clintoons pardon of Mark Rich is but a pimple on the hairy butt of this going away present

[AndyJackson]

Someone is paying attention. The first problem with this is that Congress cannot pass a law abridging the constitution. Since the courts have the power, in the constitution, to try all cases arising under the constitution, the constitutionality of this is reviewable.

Yes there is the exceptions clause, but it is not all that it would appear to be on the surface, and most believing that appellate jurisdiction under federal law and the constitution cannot be stripped from the supreme court.

[AndyJackson]

Got a rope?