S&P FIGHTS BACK: 'Govt Ramped Up Investigation After U.S. Downgrade'

Floyd Abrams with David Faber on Tuesday.



'After the downgrade the intensity of the investigation significantly increased.  And we don’t know why.'
More evidence that this was an act of prosecutorial revenge against S&P for its high-profile downgrade of the U.S. AAA credit rating in 2011.

• Is U.S. suit against rating agency S&P actually retaliation? - McClatchy

And what about Moody's, which happens to be a major holding of Warren Buffett.

A person familiar with the investigation told McClatchy that Moody's was originally part of the government's investigation, but interest in the agency waned at around the same time S&P downgraded the U.S.

S&P is the only one of the three major credit rating agencies currently facing a lawsuit.

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Full interview:

 


'Everyone was doing it...'
Abrams also told CNBC that he does NOT plan to use a First Amendment defense in the case.  Experts had expected S&P to use the same argument ratings agencies have been using for years to defend wrong ratings -- they’re a matter of opinion and therefore protected as free speech.
Reuters
Standard and Poor's has hired John Keker, one of the country's top white-collar defense attorneys, to help fight a $5 billion lawsuit brought by the U.S. government.
Keker, who is based in San Francisco and has represented everyone from cyclist Lance Armstrong to Enron's Andrew Fastow, was hired at the recommendation of Floyd Abrams, a prominent New York attorney who also represents the ratings firm.
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More on S&P and Moody's:

 


Faber discusses Moody's.
Here are juiciest parts of the 119 page lawsuit (from the emails)...


Highlights from Holder's presser:

WATCH: Holder Slams S&P For $5 Billion Fraud