Corzine Ties (MF Global) put Dems in tricky position

We covered Corzine's fall from grace in a previous article when he resigned or was forced out as CEO of MF Global as they were forced into bankruptcy due to the fact there were missing at least $700M.

It was reported earlier this week that MF Global was being investigated by federal regulators after hundreds of millions of dollars in customer money was said to be missing. According to a federal official, an executive at MF Global had admitted that the company had used clients’ cash as the firm was struggling with bad debt on European sovereign debt.

Since that article on 4 November, an article on November 11 shows MF Global  has fired everyone and liquidated assets: 

Bankrupt Corzine firm fires everyone -- MF Global announces sacking its 1,066 employees to liquidate assets, according to the AP. Jon Corzine’s bankrupt financial firm fired all of its employees Friday, the latest development in the stunning collapse of the former New Jersey governor’s ...

The amount of missing money has now grown as well:

On Nov 21 2011:  Trustee: Corzine firm short $1.2B customer's money. 

In less than a month IMF Global has gone from missing $700M in customer's money to $1.2B and the question of the day is if this will increase even more.  Sad day for customer's who trusted MF Global headed by Jon Corzine.

Democrats need to return the money Corzine has donated while he was head of MF Global which then needs to be given to the customers who lost the money IMHO.

Bets are that Corzine will take the 5th if questioned by a Congressional comittee.  He has already lawyered up for civil lawsuits he is expecting from former clients trying to get some of their money returned.

Now Democrats have to decide if they are going to keep the Corzine money: 

Corzine ties put Dems in tricky position
By Alexander Bolton - 12/04/11 05:00 PM ET 

Jon Corzine, former CEO of MF Global, has given tens of thousands of dollars to the Democratic Party in recent months, putting Democratic lawmakers in awkward positions ahead of Corzine’s subpoenaed appearance before a House committee next week. 

The House Agriculture Committee wants Corzine to explain the financial collapse of MF Global and what may have happened to clients’ investments. 

A former U.S. senator from New Jersey and governor of that state, Corzine is a longtime leader of the Democratic Party who served as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2004. 

He is also a generous financial supporter of President Obama. 

Corzine gave $15,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Sept. 28 and $30,800 to the Democratic National Committee in June. 

While he has contributed to Democrats such as Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Reps. Rush Holt (D-N.J.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and George Miller (D-Calif.), Corzine has become a political liability to his former allies on the Hill. 

House Republicans are accusing Democrats of hypocrisy for not returning contributions from Corzine, whose brokerage firm may have lost more than $1 billion of clients’ money through improper transactions. 

Republicans will put him in the spotlight Thursday. The House Agriculture Committee has subpoenaed Corzine to testify before the committee at a hearing scheduled Dec. 8.
“His testimony is essential to fulfill our objectives of our constituents,” said Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.). 

The National Republican Congressional Committee has seized on the opportunity.
“Even as Democrats align themselves with the Occupy Movement, those same Democrats have amassed millions in financial contributions from Wall Street,” the GOP committee wrote in a press release last month. 

“The fact that ‘Obama’s guy on Wall Street’ now faces possible criminal charges for the very behavior Democrats pretend to condemn exposes the Democrats’ hypocrisy.” 

The NRCC has called on Democrats to return the money. 

In recent years, Corzine has contributed over $1.8 million to the Democratic National Committee and $130,000 to the DCCC. 

A DCCC spokesman did not return a request for comment Friday afternoon. 

The recipients of Corzine’s campaign contributions include Holt, Pallone, Miller, and Reps. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.), Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Donald Payne (D-N.J.), Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Steve Rothman (D-N.J.).
None of those lawmakers sit on the Agriculture Committee. 

Corzine has avoided the press since the collapse of MF Global and his attorney initially told the panel that he would be unable to attend the Dec. 8 hearing. 

Republicans will attempt to turn Corzine into the poster boy of what they claim is Democrats’ cozy relationship with Wall Street. 

Democrats believe that growing public anger directed at Wall Street and income inequality will help them in next year’s election. 

“The number one issue is jobs, the economy and the shrinking income of the middle class particularly when compared to the fact that the highest income people are doing very well,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senate Democratic chief political strategist told The Hill this week. 

“We have the higher ground on jobs, economy and middle income’s decline,” he added.
Data compiled by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics shows that Democrats have collected $197 million from the securities and investment industry since 2006. 

Corzine has also bundled hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions for President Obama. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has called on Obama’s campaign to return the $500,000 Corzine collected on its behalf. 

Excerpt:  Read More at The Hill

How much more of this is looming with other companies/banks?   Have a hunch we are seeing the tip of an iceberg as more of these type situations are outed.  Politicians have been too cozy with Wall Street for years and that ban for State elected officials not being able to take more than $300 in campaign contributions needs extended to federal candidates as well.  When a large amount of a candidate's campaign donations come from Wall Street like Obama and Romney, then you have to wonder the influence of Wall Street on the White House and why we have some banks who are listed as "too big to fail."