Research Briefing

Obama’s “Wall Street Guy” Is Now Being Investigated By The FBI

President Obama: “I'm among a lot of friends and I, first of all, obviously want to thank Jon and Sharon for hosting us in this extraordinary venue.  These guys have been just great friends from the start. Some of you know that Jon was a big supporter of mine in my first U.S. Senate race when nobody could pronounce my name.” (President Barack Obama, “Remarks By The President At A DNC Event, New York, New York, 4/28/11)

President Obama: Corzine Is “Our Wall Street Guy.” “The rollout also provided a showcase for Corzine, the former Goldman Sachs CEO whom Obama referred to as ‘our Wall Street guy’ at a meeting of Democratic governors in Chicago on Friday.” (Claire Heininger, “Corzine Profile Rises In Obama Camp,” The Star-Ledger (NJ), 6/23/08)

JON CORZINE IS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR MISHANDLING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

Jon Corzine, One Of Obama’s “Leading Wall Street Fundraisers,” Is Now “The Center Of An FBI Investigation.” “Jon Corzine, now the center of an FBI investigation into the handling of hundreds of millions of dollars invested in his securities firm, was one of the leading Wall Street fundraisers for President Obama’s campaign and suggested to investors that he might take a top administration post if the president were re-elected.” (Michael Isikoff, “Corzine, Top Obama Fundraiser, Under FBI Investigation,” MSNBC, 11/2/11)

• Corzine’s Wall Street Firm, MF Global Has Filed For Bankruptcy. “Broker-dealer MF Global, headed by former New Jersey governor and Goldman Sachs chairman John Corzine, has filed for bankruptcy protection, apparently because of holdings of European debt.” (“Broker-Dealer MF Global Files For Bankruptcy,” USA Today, 10/31/11)
• Corzine Could Receive A $12 Million Golden Parachute. “With a sale of MF Global, Mr. Corzine’s role at the firm will almost certainly end, though he is expected to receive a severance payment of nearly $12.1 million.” (Michael J. De La Merced And Ben Protess, “MF Global Said To Be In Deal Talks With Interactive Brokers,” The New York Times’ “Dealbook,” 10/30/11)

Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars In Customer Money Has Gone Missing From” Corzine’s Firm. “Federal regulators have discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars in customer money has gone missing from MF Global in recent days, prompting an investigation into the brokerage firm, which is run by Jon S. Corzine, the former New Jersey governor, several people briefed on the matter said on Monday.” (Ben Protess, Michael J. De La Merced And Susanne Craig, “Regulators Investigating Mf Global For Missing Money,” The New York Times’ “Dealbook,” 10/31/11)

• $700 Million May Be Unaccounted For. “It is still unclear where the money went. At first, as much as $950 million was believed to be missing, but as the firm sorted through its bankruptcy, that figure fell to less than $700 million by late Monday, the people briefed on the matter said.” (Ben Protess, Michael J. De La Merced And Susanne Craig, “Regulators Investigating Mf Global For Missing Money,” The New York Times’ “Dealbook,” 10/31/11)

• Federal Officials “Don’t Know Why There Was A Shortfall Or Where It Went,” “‘It's dropped some, but it's going to be a fluid thing,’ the source said. ‘We do know there was a shortfall ... and that is where things stand. We don't know why there was a shortfall or where it went.’”  (“MF Global Hole Shrinks, But Still Hundreds Of Millions,” Reuters, 11/2/11)

JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO, CORZINE WAS PREPARING TO BECOME OBAMA’S NEXT SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY

Corzine’s Firm Issues “Highly Unusual” Securities Which Promised To Pay A  Higher Interest Rates If Corzine Was Appointed And Confirmed To A “Federal Position By The President Of The United States.” “Just a few months after that event, Corzine’s firm, MF Global, surprised many Wall Street investors by issuing highly unusual securities notes that appeared to highlight Corzine’s close relationship with the White House: The notes suggested that the former New Jersey governor might be in line for a top administration post should the president get re-elected. The notes promised to pay an extra 1% in interest rates in the event of ‘the departure of Mr. Corzine as our full time chief executive officer due to his appointment to a federal position by the President of the United States and his confirmation…by the United States Senate prior to July 1, 2013.’” (Michael Isikoff, “Corzine, Top Obama Fundraiser, Under FBI Investigation,” MSNBC, 11/2/11)

• Raising Speculation That Corzine Would Be A Candidate For Treasury Secretary. “There was speculation in the financial press at the time that Corzine might be a candidate to replace Tim Geithner as Secretary of the Treasury.” (Michael Isikoff, “Corzine, Top Obama Fundraiser, Under FBI Investigation,” MSNBC, 11/2/11)

“Jon Corzine Stands Much More Of A Chance Of Being Tapped To Be The Next Treasury Secretary Than Many In Washington, D.C., Or On Wall Street Think.” (John Carney, “Jon Corzine’s Treasury Secretary Appeal,” CNBC, 8/4/11)

CORZINE HAS PLAYED A “CENTRAL ROLE” IN OBAMA’S WOOING OF WALL STREET

Corzine Played A “Central Role” In Obama’s Wall Street Fundraising Efforts. “His new legal troubles, sparked by the bankruptcy filing of his investment firm, MF Global, could complicate the president’s efforts to raise money from the financial community given Corzine’s central role in those efforts.” (Michael Isikoff, “Corzine, Top Obama Fundraiser, Under FBI Investigation,” MSNBC, 11/2/11)

“Corzine Has Already Held A High-End Fundraiser And Organized A Secret Meet-And-Greet Between Finance Executives And Obama’s New Chief Of Staff.” (Peter Stone, Elizabeth Lucas, John Aloysius Farrell, Paul Abowd and Rachael Marcus, “Obama Campaign Reports More Than 350 Big Bundlers, Including Solyndra Figures,” Iwatch News, 10/14/11)

Corzine Has Been A Major Player In Obama’s Reelection Fundraising

Jon Corzine Has Bundled Over $500,000 For Obama’s Reelection Campaign. (Center For Responsive Politics, Opensecrets.Org, Accessed 10/31/11)

Corzine Co-Hosted A Wall Street Fundraiser For Obama In April. “President Obama's first New York event since he declared his reelection will be at the home of former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, the former Goldman Sachs financier who will host a high-dollar, small dinner, an invitation to the event shows. Tickets to the event, which sources said Corzine is co-hosting with another financier, longtime Obama backer Orin Kramer and his wife, cost $35,800 per person.” (Maggie Haberman, “Obama Fundraiser At Corzine Home,” Politico, 4/5/11)

• The Fundraiser Was Part Of Obama’s Efforts “To Soothe Frayed Relations” With Wall Street. “The choice of Corzine's home is notable, given his ties to the financial sector. The White House has made efforts in recent months to soothe frayed relations with the business community, after an election cycle during which some donors, unhappy with the push for Wall Street reform, claimed to be sitting on their hands.” (Maggie Haberman, “Obama Fundraiser At Corzine Home,” Politico, 4/5/11)

And Helped With Obama’s Personal Efforts To Reach Out To Wall Street Executives 

Jon Corzine Attended Obama’s Blue Room Meeting With Wall Street Donors. (Josh Gerstein, “All At DNC Blue Room Meeting With Obama Were Donors, Politico’s “Under The Radar,” 6/26/11)

• Just Before Announcing For Reelection, Obama Brought Two Dozen Wall Street Executives And Long-Time Donors To The White House For A Blue Room Meeting. “A few weeks before announcing his re-election campaign, President Obama convened two dozen Wall Street executives, many of them longtime donors, in the White House’s Blue Room.” (Nicholas Confessore, “Obama Seeks To Win Back Wall St. Cash,” The New York Times, 6/12/11)
• Obama “Opened The Floor” For The Donors To Talk To Him “On Hot Issues.”  “The guests were asked for their thoughts on how to speed the economic recovery, then the president opened the floor for over an hour on hot issues like hedge fund regulation and the deficit.” (Nicholas Confessore, “Obama Seeks To Win Back Wall St. Cash,” The New York Times, 6/12/11)
  
  The Meeting Was Organized By The Democratic National Committee To Try To “Win Back” Wall Street, One Of Obama’s Main Sources Of Campaign Cash. “The event, organized by the Democratic National Committee, kicked off an aggressive push by Mr. Obama to win back the allegiance of one of his most vital sources of campaign cash — in part by trying to convince Wall Street that his policies, far from undercutting the investor class, have helped bring banks and financial markets back to health.” (Nicholas Confessore, “Obama Seeks To Win Back Wall St. Cash,” The New York Times, 6/12/11)