Warren Report Criticizes Obama Administration's Failure to Prosecute Corporate Crimes

Controversy erupted after the recent Democratic presidential debate when Hillary Clinton accused Bernie Sanders of criticizing President Obama. However, Sanders is hardly the only prominent Democrat to have recently questioned some of the president's actions. In January, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) released a 12-page booklet titled "Rigged Justice," which highlights 20 cases of lax corporate law enforcement in 2015, saying:

    The Obama Administration has made repeated promises to strengthen enforcement and hold corporate criminals accountable, and the DOJ [US Department of Justice] announced in September that it would place greater emphasis on charging individuals responsible for corporate crimes. Nonetheless, both before and after this DOJ announcement, accountability for corporate crimes is shockingly weak.

Elizabeth Warren: American Justice Is 'Rigged' In Favor Of The Rich

WASHINGTON -- In a scorching speech from the Senate floor on Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said the American criminal justice system is rigged in favor of the wealthy, and condemned new legislation that would make it harder to prosecute bank fraud.

"There are two legal systems," Warren said. "One for the rich and powerful, and one for everyone else."

9 Ways Police Have More Protections Than You Do When They're Arrested

The police reform advocates who have long argued that cops shouldn't be allowed to investigate themselves for wrongdoing now have some new data to back them up. Earlier this month, four activists affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement launched Check the Police, a database of police union contracts from departments in 50 cities. After scrutinizing the documents, the project's creators identified four key provisions by which the contracts shield officers from accountability, or receive rights and courtesies not available to most civilian suspects.

Bank Crimes Pay: Under the Thumb of the Global Financial Mafiocracy

On Nov. 13, the United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced it was charging 10 individual bankers, working for two separate banks, Deutsche Bank and Barclays, with fraud over their rigging of the Euribor rates. The latest announcement shines the spotlight once again on the scandals and criminal behavior that have come to define the world of global banking.

In Arbitration, a ‘Privatization of the Justice System’

Deborah L. Pierce, an emergency room doctor in Philadelphia, was optimistic when she brought a sex discrimination claim against the medical group that had dismissed her. Respected by colleagues, she said she had a stack of glowing evaluations and evidence that the practice had a pattern of denying women partnerships.

She began to worry, though, once she was blocked from court and forced into private arbitration.

Presiding over the case was not a judge but a corporate lawyer, Vasilios J. Kalogredis, who also handled arbitrations. When Ms. Pierce showed up one day for a hearing, she said she noticed Mr. Kalogredis having a friendly coffee with the head of the medical group she was suing.

FBI Agents Accused Of Torturing U.S. Citizen Abroad Can't Be Sued

Federal agents who illegally detain, interrogate and torture American citizens abroad can't be held accountable for violating the Constitution.

A divided federal appeals court on Friday tossed the lawsuit of a U.S. citizen who claimed the FBI trampled his rights for four months across three African countries while he was traveling overseas.

The Supreme Court Could Soon Give Corporations Even More Immunity From The Law

Suppose that a company cheats you out of a few hundred dollars. While you’ll probably be angry and may make some irate phone calls to the company’s customer service line, chances are you’re not going to sue if the company refuses to back down. The cost of bringing a lawsuit will greatly exceed any amount you are likely to recover from the company, and you are unlikely to find a lawyer willing to take such a small-dollar case unless you agree to pay that lawyer expensive hourly fees.

Coca-Cola To IRS: We Don't Plan To Pay $3.3-Billion Tax Bill

NEW YORK -- Coca-Cola says it was notified by the IRS that it owes $3.3 billion U.S. more in federal taxes, as well as interest, for 2007 to 2009.

The Atlanta-based company says in a regulatory filing Friday that it believe the assessments are without merit and plans to pursue "all administrative and judicial remedies necessary to resolve the matter.''

The maker of Sprite, Dasani, Powerade and other drinks says the disagreement is over how much of the money it makes from licensing products overseas should be considered be considered taxable income in the U.S.

Coca-Cola Co. says it was notified that a recommendation has been made to the IRS's chief counsel that the matter be designated for litigation.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca/
Author: AP

Prosecution of White-Collar Crime Hits 20-Year Low

Just a few years after the financial crisis, a new report tells an important story: Federal prosecution of white-collar crime has hit a 20-year low.

The analysis by Syracuse University shows a more than 36 percent decline in such prosecutions since the middle of the Clinton administration, when the decline began. Landing amid calls from Democratic presidential candidates for more Wall Street prosecutions, the report notes that the projected number of prosecutions this year is 12 percent less than last year and 29 percent less than five years ago.

RCMP and prosecutors must disclose details about why they did not prosecute Nigel Wright for his payment to Senator Mike Duffy, as B.C. prosecutor did in similar situation

OTTAWA – Today, Democracy Watch called on the RCMP officials and prosecutors who decided not to charge and prosecute Nigel Wright for his payment of more than $90,000 to Senator Mike Duffy to provide a detailed written explanation of their decision, as a B.C. prosecutor did in the Dobell case in 2008 (To see the explanation in B.C. case, click here (PDF document).

More than 31,000 Canadians have signed an online petition calling for a public explanation whenever prosecutors decide not to prosecute someone involved in the Senate spending scandal, as well as for fully independent prosecutors to oversee the investigations to ensure decisions are made based on the facts and the law and no other considerations.

Ferguson Prosecutor Robert McCulloch Gives Bizarre Press Conference

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch announced on Monday night that Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted for the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in a press conference that many found baffling, unwieldy and inflammatory.

McCulloch said the grand jury "gave up their lives" while deliberating.

The prosecutor also repeatedly lashed out at the media, blaming the internet and "the 24-hour news cycle" for the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, where Brown was shot and killed in August. He continued talking for several minutes before revealing the much-anticipated grand jury decision.