I wrote about this last year, well after the Department Of Justice initially filed suit against S&P in February. And as you might recall, the DOJ’s lawsuit was chockablock with staggering hypocrisy all on its own (h/t HotAir).
But if that move smelled like political retribution back then, it absolutely reeks of it now.
(via Reuters) – Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner angrily warned the chairman of Standard & Poor’s parent that the rating agency would be held accountable for its 2011 decision to strip the United States of its coveted “triple-A” rating, a new court filing shows.
Harold McGraw, the chairman of McGraw-Hill Financial Inc , made the statement in a declaration filed by S&P on Monday, as it defends against the government’s $5 billion fraud lawsuit over its rating practices prior to the 2008 financial crisis.
McGraw said he returned a call from Geithner on Aug. 8, 2011, three days after S&P cut the U.S. credit rating to “AA-plus,” and that Geithner told him “you are accountable” for an alleged “huge error” in S&P’s work.
Two Heads are Better Than One 