Federal Reserve Responds To AIG FOIA Request, Davis Polk And Morgan Stanley Data Forthcoming
Zero Hedge recently submitted a FOIA to the Federal Reserve regarding information prepared by Davis Polk and Morgan Stanley in their capacity as legal and financial advisors to the Fed in its negotiations on whether or not to push AIG into bankruptcy. We present their response.
The request was specifically worded as follows:
"a request for all documentation that was part of the discussions between the Federal Reserve and Davis Polk with regard to the AIG bankruptcy. Furthermore, I would like to see all prepared materials by either Davis Polk or Morgan Stanley and presented to the Federal Reserve, as well as any documents indicating how and why the Fed decided to bailout AIG instead of pursuing a bankruptcy option for the company."
The response was curious:
"Staff searched Board records and located a large volume of potentially responsive documents."
Zero Hedge is grateful to Jeanne M. McLaughlin for the prompt response and is looking to the September 30, 2009 to receive all the requested information, and humbly submits that this is information that should have been made publicly available much earlier, now that taxpayers are 80% owners of AIG and as such have every right to understand why and how hundreds of billions of their dollars were invested in this cesspool of toxic assets only to keep it, or rather its key beneficiary counterparty, Goldman Sachs alive.
For all who wish to join Zero Hedge in this endeavor for taxpayer funded transparency, the link to the Federal Reserve's FOIA site can be found here:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/EFOIA/EFOIAForm.cfm
(12 votes)
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on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:13
#25630
The Fed has a FOI office? Any bets on how long before that gets hit with RIF?
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:16
#25638
Or a jet airliner. HEH.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:15
#25637
If you think that business does not get personal at this level you are wrong. I wouldn't stretch any tax deductions this year if I was you.....
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:17
#25640
An RFP has already been submitted to the SecTsy for facilitating in this regard.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:20
#25645
uh oh
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:21
#25646
This year? TD needs to adjust returns due to tips received when bagging groceries (and cougar moms) when he was 16 to be in the clear.
Good luck.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:51
#25782
Why can't the FOIA be anonymous or from Tyler Durden and a PO Box?
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:17
#25641
Thank you for your leadership in pursing this.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:19
#25643
One of these days Fed will say "We are not a government agency so your FOI request is not applicable here. We only respond to requests by insolvent Bank Holding Companies, such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, or simply too-big-to-fail entities."
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:25
#25654
Thank you Tyler.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:29
#25660
News Flash:
Published: Wednesday, 5 Aug 2009 | 9:38 AM ET
Reuters
A White House spokesman said Wednesday that the United States has pulled far back from descending into another economic depression, although new figures to be released Friday will show hundreds of thousands more lost U.S. jobs.
"We have pulled far back from the edge of descending into another economic depression"
spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:03
#25713
isnt it awesome how history repeats itself.A year ago we were being told that we are not in a recession,and we clearly were, and now we are being told that the depression has been successfully escaped,when it is clearly that we are i one ...
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:07
#25714
i love how the WH actually used the word "depression"......they would not even dream of using the 'd' word at the beginning of the year, now it's "obama stopped the depression". this is going to be fun for a few years.
looking forward to watching Hillary and the Clintonistas scheme to take back the WH.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:00
#25793
That's what happens when you imbibe too long in the Teledelusion Vision or other commercially sponsored media which is funded by sponsors's interests in happy talk and cognitive dissonance when times get tough. Be here now and don't be lamenting; be fomenting and fermenting your best ideas.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 14:39
#26176
i have not watched TV for over a year, so i will have to go along with your post ..
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:31
#25663
yes! Now we are going to find out who got hacked, who got wacked and, who got jacked.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:33
#25669
It will be interesting to see how much documentation is handed over.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:36
#25670
This is so great. The administration is going to go down lying to the American sheep.
Only a matter of time now. Obama has finally had his 'mission accomplished' moment.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:37
#25672
The wording is nice. One wonders how much of the "large volume of potentially responsive documents" will actually be released and how much of that will be blacked out.
However, it is worth a try. Good work.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:43
#25682
I think the operative term you're looking for is "redacted". Second your opinion on the value of trying.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:39
#25677
I noticed that you blacked out certain information in your FOIA... you probably know much more about the law in this specific area... but I would be careful that the FOIA you sent in is not an available record to an another FOIA from an interested party such as GS or CNBC...
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:16
#25818
GS has the resources to find out who TD is, so let's not underestimate them. I wouldn't be surprised if they're already preparing their pr firm.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:41
#25680
So, I wonder if the FOIA can be used to get a copy of this document without the top sections blacked out.
My guess is yes.
:)
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:53
#25702
My thoughts exactly... using the date of the FOIA request as the basis for all FOIA requests made to the Fed on that date... hopefully they used a unrelated party such as an attorney to make the request...
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:42
#25681
Thanks, too bad nobody in the MSM thought of this, what am I saying their corporate overlords would not allow it.
TD is the bomb
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:51
#25693
I wonder who, besides MS and Davis Polk, the other entities "outside" the Fed are? Does your FOIA include that info?
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:52
#25696
Tyler - The only problem I see with it is they will know who you are (if you FOIA in your actual name). The logic flows like this, if there is only one person asking for specific information about a "Davis Polk", it's pretty easy for Jeanne to figure out the connection (not withstanding your own redaction). That's too simpleton for you. I suspect you set up 5 people, all not real entities, all FOIA requesting information at the same time to obfuscate yourself and to see if they give you all the same answer.
All of this is supposing that they'll have jack-booted thugs pay you a friendly visit... They wouldn't need to because they are a completely above-board, legally operating organization.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:01
#25712
precautions have been taken
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:15
#25722
I expect no less. ;)
Keep on, keepin on.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 13:07
#25970
Do be careful. You may think you are covered because a lot of the information surrounding ZH is legally inaccessible. However, I can tell you that for $50k and the right connections you can get almost any piece of information regarding individuals or firms in ANY jurisdiction.
If GS, AIG or anybody with deep pockets is investigating you, then they probably already know everything about you.
How that information is used is an altogether different matter.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 13:50
#26055
What's to find out? Everyone knows TD is the nom de plume of none other than Dick Cheney
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:01
#25711
Did you happen to provide a definitions page and cover what is considered "documentation"?
Given the potential volume inferred from the Fed feedback, you probably did.
So they've given themselves roughly 8 weeks to get out the black magic marker to "protect the integrity of the banking system". Something tells me that you will be getting another letter, in say... late September... asking for even more time.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:08
#25715
Buying NWL today... maker of the 'Sharpie' permanent black marker...
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:08
#25716
USD will be dead by September :(
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:12
#25719
FOIA requests are a huge deal if you are on the receiving end of one. Having held a number of Government contracts, and being party to fulfilling three FOIA requests in the past, I can surmise that you've put a lot of people "on edge." Service providers to the Government (i.e. contract holders) have a low standard of performance to FOIA requests. I'm not saying I blew them off, but in my circumstances, we did not supply information that people may have found relevant because 1) it could be argued that the information requested fell outside the scope of work as written in our contract, therefore we had no obligation to provide it; and 2) we successfully argued that release of some of our information was a trade secret and the government was not entitled to it, as it would materially damage existing business and diminish our capability of doing future business.
That said, whatever the Government had in its posession related to the inquiry was their property, and was submitted to fufill the FOIA request.
But my point is that many of the "nuggests" that may captivate our attention may not emerge through the FOIA process when private organizations are "in on the game." The Government could ask GS, MS, S&P, and others for data related to the AIG transaction, and they could either say "no" or supply harmless fluff and remain compliant.
No matter what, this is still a hugely positive development, and I look forward to helping digest the "substantial volume of information" that is forthcoming.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:16
#25726
Does anyone else have the same eerie feeling that when this puppy goes down, it is going to go down hard and so fast, that very few Americans will be truly prepared?!!!!
There has been so much white wash, cover up and PROP UP at every level, that up is down, and down is up right now. They have so hopelessly cooked the numbers and stats, that no one has a clue how bad things really are...
I am getting tired of the smoke and mirrors...
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:26
#25744
In addition to redacting data, they will likely assert a FOIA exemption of some kind. The case law on the exemptions is scant, and given their incentive to keep this stuff secret, they may make you fight it out in the courts. Are they making you pay costs?
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:34
#25754
Well clearly, something very terrible will happen in the world prior to September 30 , 2009. Place your bets.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 19:20
#26558
like at the end of fight club?
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:39
#25763
The Fed's interpretation of FOIA:
Fuck Off Insolent Amoebas
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:47
#25774
The IRA: So what happens with health care reform?
Feinberg: There is a remarkable commonality between financial regulatory reform and health care because both are languishing. The cynic in me - and I am never cynical enough - is still having a hard time coming to terms with the policy of combining Zombie banks and investment firms into ever larger entities. During the S&L crisis these were known as "phoenixes." We were told that "It Would Never Happen Again." At that time, I predicted it would happen. On the day Hank Paulson was appointed Treasury Secretary, I said there's a problem at Goldman, and we don't know what it is, but we're going to find out. Turns out it was AIG.
The cynical way to look at Washington is as a parallel universe after the Orwellian model. We can also use such examples to predict the form of future crises. The Obama Administration has picked up the mantra of the US banking industry being the "backbone of the economy," but in reality I think it is the inflamed appendix that threatens the life of the patient. We have been told that these Zombies are healthy and will be restored to their former glory. If this is the case, why is it that the largest banks are the worst run and that they failed to build capital during the longest expansion the economy has ever seen?
http://us1.institutionalriskanalytics.com/pub/IRAMain.asp
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:19
#25824
AIG stock up 42% today, huh?
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:26
#25834
CIT + 42% also. Be right back, grabbing FNM and FRE - hoping for either an FOIA to be filed or an SEC charge/setttlement.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 12:01
#25871
This has to be HFT and short covering. What fund managers would even remotely consider AIG?
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 12:53
#25946
Wow. Wow. FNM and FRE both went from virtually Unch to +40% within minutes after that.
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=FNM#chart1:symbol=fnm;range=1d;compare=fre;indicator=split+volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=1;logscale=on;source=undefined
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:52
#25862
we'll see how many taxpayers $billions went to the "counterparties" in second Q when AIG reports this Friday.
short this pig
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 14:22
#26128
TD - next time attach a sheet of definitions as to what contitutes a "record" and "related to". Apparently it is how honorable men make such requests.
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/darrell-issa-goes-after-rahm-emanuel-hilarity-ensues-and-epic-fail-chief-staff
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 16:09
#26342
i received this letter yesterday as well, as i also told the federal reserve i would pay top $$$$ to see the internal reports. im assuming this thing will be redacted, but there should still be a lot of details hidden from the public in them. either that or a lot of coloring books, cause i doubt they really ever did any research to being with.
i still have some hope that as a taxpaying american i am entitled to public information by law.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 16:28
#26366
um............don't you think this sort of thing is likely to get your identity exposed? I hope you had a front man's name on the request.
on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 17:53
#26483
Wait, your name isn't really Tyler Durden?
What's this world coming to?
Keep up the good work whomever you are....or whomsever yous is.....