Research

When The Obama Administration Wanted Advice On The Economy, They Called Jon Corzine

  In The Early Days Of The Obama Administration, Biden “Literally” Called Jon Corzine For Advice On The Economy Because “He Knew About The Economy … And We Trusted His Judgment. “‘I literally picked up the phone and called Jon Corzine and said Jon, what do you think we should do,’ Biden said. ‘The reason we called Jon is that we knew that he knew about the economy, about world markets, how we had to respond, unlike almost anyone we knew. It was because he had been in the pit -- because he had been in the furnace. And we trusted his judgment.’ (Conor Friedersdorf, “Obama’s Team Relied On Jon Corzine For Economic Advice,” The Atlantic, 11/14/11)

• Watch Biden Say The Obama Team Relied On Corzine For Economic Advice

Corzine Was A Top Obama Economic Advisor Who “Helped Craft” The Failed Obama Stimulus

Watch Biden Say That Corzine “Helped Craft” The Stimulus

Biden: “It’s not coincidental that that’s what the Recovery Act is. Jon Corzine helped craft the Recovery Act. It’s not coincidental that the things he did here turned out to be the exact same things the recovery act has because way back in the transition period before we were sworn in, when Barack Obama and I were literally sitting at a desk in a high rise in Chicago beginning to plan how we would try to get this economy out of a ditch, literally the first guy I called was Jon Corzine. Not a joke. Not a joke. Because first of all, he’s the smartest guy I know in terms of the economy and on finance. (Vice President Biden, Speech In New Jersey, 5/7/11)

• Biden: “If you need any evidence of whether or not what I’m telling you is accurate, look at the recovery efforts of New Jersey and you can mirror them, they just fall right on top of what we’re doing. And so Jon, thank you, thank you, thank you.” (Vice President Biden, Speech In New Jersey, 5/7/11)

Now Regulators Are On “A Magical Mystery Tour” Trying To Decipher Corzine’s Wall Street Firms’ Books To Find Hundreds Of Millions Of Customer Dollars That Have Gone Missing

President Obama: Jon 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, 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)

Jon 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)

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)

“‘The Longer It Goes Without Anyone Finding The Money, The Odds Go Up That The Money Is Out The Door,’ Said Craig Pirrong, A Finance Professor At The University Of Houston.” (Scott Patterson And Aaron Lucchetti, “Inside The Hunt For MF Global Cash,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/11/11) 

CFTC Commissioner Says Corzine’s Firms’ “Books Are A Disaster. … We’re Trying To Figure Out What Numbers Are The Real Numbers.” “‘Their books are a disaster,’ Scott O'Malia, a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, one of the regulators leading a hunt that has stretched 10 days so far, said in an interview. ‘We're trying to figure out what numbers are the real numbers.’” (Scott Patterson And Aaron Lucchetti, “Inside The Hunt For MF Global Cash,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/11/11)

CFTC Commissioner Says Corzine’s Firm “Haven’t Been Cooperative.” “CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton disputed how much help regulators are getting from MF Global. Efforts to get information from the firm since the bankruptcy filing have been ‘difficult and disappointing,’ he said. ‘I think they haven't been cooperative,’ Mr. Chilton added in an interview.” (Scott Patterson And Aaron Lucchetti, “Inside The Hunt For MF Global Cash,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/11/11)

• “[CFTC Commissioner] Compared Efforts To Locate The Missing Money To ‘A Magical Mystery Tour.’” (Scott Patterson And Aaron Lucchetti, “Inside The Hunt For MF Global Cash,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/11/11)