This will be very brief and I know this ain't much of a diary, but apparently according to Huffington Post:
During his State of the Union address tonight, President Obama will announce the creation of a special unit to investigate misconduct and illegalities that contributed to both the financial collapse and the mortgage crisis.
The office, part of a new Unit on Mortgage Origination and Securitization Abuses, will be chaired by Eric Schneiderman, the New York attorney general, according to a White House official.
About fucking time. And whaddaya know, public pressure works. I'm hopping on BART so I won't be able to respond for another hour or so. But this is good news.
UPDATE:
Eric Schneiderman has released a statement, via the Huffington Post article I linked to above:
“I would like to thank President Obama for his leadership in the creation of a coordinated investigation that marshals state and federal resources to bring justice for the victims of the misconduct that caused the mortgage crisis.
“In coordination with our federal partners, our office will continue its steadfast commitment to holding those responsible for the economic crisis accountable, providing meaningful relief for homeowners commensurate with the scale of the misconduct, and getting our economy moving again.
“The American people deserve a robust and comprehensive investigation into the global financial meltdown to ensure nothing like it ever happens again, and today’s announcement is a major step in the right direction.”
I notice in the comments that there is some skepticism, that this is just a PR move - and skepticism is absolutely warranted. The administration hasn't exactly been balls-to-the-wall on the mortgage crisis and going after the financial sector thus far. I'd like to see not only prosecutions but stronger reforms and a large scale program to write-down mortgages. But this is a step in the right direction. Anyhow, I'd love to stay and chat more but I've got to put my 2-year-old to sleep (who knows how long that'll take), and she's breaking my balls right now to read The Gruffalo to her. Thanks for putting this on the rec list, and good night y'all.