Goldman Sachs Charges Up to Justice Department, Levin Says

Goldman Sachs Charges Up to Justice Department, Levin Says
By Clea Benson
Apr 14, 2011
Bloomberg

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein...testified at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee hearing on Wall Street and the financial crisis, in Washington, April 27, 2010.

Senator Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, talks about Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s communication to clients and Congress about the firm's bets on securities tied to the housing market...

The U.S. Justice Department and regulators will have to determine whether employees and executives of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) violated any laws when they traded securities tied to the housing market and testified to Congress about the transactions, Senator Carl Levin said.

The Michigan Democrat, who released the findings of a two- year inquiry into the 2008 financial crisis yesterday, said today in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart with Carol Massar and Matt Miller” that he wanted to send the report to federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lawmakers don’t have the authority to declare whether the activities were illegal, he said.

“That is not for Congress to determine whether or not a crime was committed or whether or not he violated the security laws,” Levin said, referring to Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein. “That is for the Justice Department and that is for the SEC to make those determinations.”

Levin, who is chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said he also wants to forward all of the testimony that Goldman Sachs executives gave before his panel so the Justice Department can determine whether any statements constitute perjury...