2012-10-03

Q&A With Neil Barofsky

[A]nd, as we started discussing it, he gave me a warning. He said that I was doing myself real harm for my ”future prospects,” in his words. And by that, he explained that I had a very harsh tone. I was very critical of Wall Street and very critical of the Obama Administration as I was carrying out my job as SIGTARP and providing oversight. And he warned me that if I didn’t change my tone, it was going to hurt my ability to get a job after SIGTARP when I left the government, presumably to go get a job on Wall Street, that I was doing myself real harm. When I explained to him I wasn’t really interested in that, he then said, ”Well, even within the administration.” But then if I changed my tone, became a little bit more upbeat and positive, good things could happen to me. He mentioned even perhaps an Obama appointment as a -- as a federal judge, if only I would change my tone.
/
I was once told by an IG pointblank that he wished he could do what I was doing, but he was afraid for his job, that he had kids in college and he had -- he couldn’t afford to lose his job. And that’s one of the problems. They live in fear of being fired if they’re too aggressive in carrying out their duties.
/
Geithner was much more dismissive. I didn’t really meet with him all that often. Maybe a couple of meetings at times is very combative, at times very aggressive, at times profane.
/
They kept their jobs. They kept their bonuses. They kept their rich compensation they received prior to their bailouts. They kept -- those bonuses were soon restored for those executives.
  http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/307720-1