The Real Game of Missing Money 20060209 Kai Ryssdal, Marketplace, “Negroponte (Director of National Intelligence) Given Power to Waive SEC Rules.” The federal government provides waivers to private companies so they do not have to comply with SEC rules as more money goes missing from the U.S. government and immediately before the Financial Crisis begins. Media, Corporation 20060400 The Solari Report publishes Dillon Read and Co., Inc. and the Aristocracy of Stock Profits by Catherine Austin Fitts explaining how the federal government engineered the housing bubble and that trillions are being transferred out of government accounts. Media, HUD 20060505 In the Memorandum on Assignment of Function Relating to Granting of Authority for Issuance of Certain Directives, President G.W. Bush waives the SEC reporting requirements for contractors. The SEC Act itself grants the authority to any president to exempt contractors from reporting via 15 U.S. Code § 78m(b)(3)(A), which states: “With respect to matters concerning the national security of the United States, no duty or liability under paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be imposed upon any person acting in cooperation with the head of any Federal department or agency responsible for such matters if such act in cooperation with such head of a department or agency was done upon the specific, written directive of the head of such department or agency pursuant to Presidential authority to issue such directives. Each directive issued under this paragraph shall set forth the specific facts and circumstances with respect to which the provisions of this paragraph are to be invoked. Each such directive shall, unless renewed in writing, expire one year after the date of issuance.” [Source: Wikipedia] Law, Corporate 20060614 Daniel Gros, “Discrepancies in America’s Accounts Hide a Black Hole” (Financial Times article). Media, DoD 20060700 DOD Inspector General reports on $6.5MM of Army spending allocated by Pentagon with no paper trail, and no DOD audit for past two decades to resolve this; says Pentagon “money pit” goes back to 1991. DoD 20060710 Henry M. Paulson, Jr. becomes Secretary of the Treasury and serves until January 20, 2009. Treasury 20060926 Enactment of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act requiring information about Federal awards to be posted on a single, searchable website that is open for public access. law 20060929 The Credit Rating Agency Reform Act of 2006 is enacted. This law requires the SEC to establish clear guidelines for determining which credit rating agencies qualify as nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs). It also gives the SEC the power to regulate NRSRO internal processes regarding record-keeping and how they guard against conflicts of interest and makes the NRSRO determination subject to a Commission vote (rather than an SEC staff determination). Notably, however, the law specifically prohibits the SEC from regulating an NRSRO's rating methodologies. law 20061210 Goldman Sachs meets to determine how to short the market in mortgage-backed securities—the start of triggering the Financial Crisis. Corporate 20070320 In GAO testimony before the Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives, U.S. Comptroller General David Walker testifies: “For the 10th consecutive year, certain material weaknesses in financial reporting and other limitations on the scope of our work resulted in conditions that continued to prevent us from being able to provide the Congress and the American people an opinion as to whether the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government were fairly stated in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).” event 20070825 2007 FY end. $1.1T in undocumentable adjustments against Treasury at Department of the Army. DoD Treasury 20070930 Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele, “Billions over Baghdad,” (Vanity Fair): “Between April 2003 and June 2004, $12 billion in U.S. currency—much of it belonging to the Iraqi people—was shipped from the Federal Reserve to Baghdad, where it was dispensed by the Coalition Provisional Authority. Some of the cash went to pay for projects and keep ministries afloat, but, incredibly, at least $9 billion has gone missing, unaccounted for, in a frenzy of mismanagement and greed.” Media, DoD 1 8 5