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"the counter to life or long term appointments is that they can make decisions free from politics being the main concern --- think house of Rep v Senate -- 2 years v 6 years ---- that same idea - some freedom from worrying every minute about re-election is good"
Life term tenure make people insular, arrogant, lazy, callous, insensitive, inefficient, uncaring, unaccountable, entitlement oriented, corrupt ....
With fixed limited term, any wrong decision will be reversed by next incoming judges and people do not have to live with wrong decision for very long time.
It is a safe principle to have limited fixed term for all important positions especially for unelected Judges who can overwrite constitution without any ratifications.
"I know MC seems a little bitter about something..."
First of all, MC should feel very lucky for being FHFA Director even for one day, considering that he was not qualified for this job.
MC boasts that he helped to draft HERA, the crappiest law in the history. So MC must be ashamed of this.
HERA is a copy of the law that Governs FDIC, a Deposit Insurance corporation and supervisor for Banks and their depositors. FHFA is bureaucratic regulator that regulates FnF, the monoline Insurance companies. So this fellow should have known the simple fact that FHFA is not Insurance corporation and does not supervise Banks. Then why use the law that deals with deposit insurance and supervision of banks, to regulate and supervise monoline insurance companies.
HERA is the most inappropriate law for regulation and supervision of FnF. So HERA should be abolished. Please ask MC about it.
"Scotus does have too much power"
Yes, scotus does have too much power and it is made even far worse by life tenure of unelected and unaccountable judges.
In US, people can vote to replace congressman, senators and president but no one can replace these judges. Whole system is at the mercy of these judges.
In schools they teach the constitution as if the country is run based on the constitution. But no one tells them that constitution has been overwritten by the SCOTUS and Congress many times without any ratifications. No body tells them that constitutional system of checks and balances and bill of rights exist only paper and never expect that Judiciary will ever help them.
" If the Constitution is considered outdated, there's no need for laws nor the interpreters of such. QED"
Term limits will fix all these problems over period of time.
"Only in a banana republic could such lunacy exist. I feel good and lucky today so I think I'll sue myself! Maybe, if I can prove criminal intent against myself I can sentence myself to 10 years in prison. Duh?"
Yes, Judiciary has acted like a guardian for administration and proxy for congress instead of protecting the rights of powerless citizen.
"Yes. All the suits where judges ruled (beginning with Lamberth) that shareholders had no standing during conservatorship. SCOTUS ruled that any citizen (other than Carlos) can file takings lawsuits under the constitution."
Great news for shareholders. Let us wait and see how these cases get revived. If the cases go to trial, all lies will be exposed and public will know the truth about secrecies and tyrannies of FnF conservatorship.
It is disconcerting to read false introductory narratives that SCOTUS used about FnF conservatorship despite clear evidence contradicting that in the discovered documents.
"If it's authorized in the law, then it's not a Taking."
Wise Man,
Agree on some of your points and views. We are all untied in getting justice for shareholders both JPS and CS. We need to make sure that we pursue correct legal claims. Open debate is the best way to short list the valid claims.
Constitutional law trumps over any congressional law. That is why SCOTUS ruled that plaintiffs have 5th amendment claims despite HERA depriving plaintiffs of their ownership rights by temporarily transferring all rights to FHFA conservator.
"The opinion makes clear that the FHFA can take actions in the public interest, like a NWS"
Is this not covered under 5th taking claims.
"Earlier, the lower courts had ruled that during conservatorship only FHFA could bring lawsuits against itself. All suits that were dismissed earlier are back in play."
Does this mean that all the related cases dismissed in lower district courts and state courts get remanded back.
So Judge Lambert has to open the case he dismissed.
"With the Supreme Court's opinion, the plaintiffs can no longer request a refund of the overpayments."
Not true.
"Treasury would capitalize each LIH Co with the proceeds from the sale of its 79.9% common stock ownership interest in each GSE."
Even simpler approach is to
1. transfer all high risk and low income business to GNMA and private Banks with Gov explicit Guaranties. FHFA can continue to regulate this Business.
2, Cancel all Gov SPSPA investments in FnF with reasonable rate of returns comparable to private market rates. Also Gov should pay FnF for using FnF for public benefit. Let FnF exit GSE charter and become real private companies without Gov meddling.
With this approach Gov can restore the faith of people in Gov and control the damage done by the FHFA and Judiciary.
This seems to be best solution based on rule of law and all the stake holders and banks get some thing.
"My improvement suggestions to the judicial system are:"
The best improvement would be term limits for all appointed positions that wield considerable unchecked authority. Life term tenure makes people lazy, arrogant, feel entitled, most importantly unanswerable to people of the country.
"Anyway, using two private companies to serve public interest is NATIONALISATION."
Yes, SCOTUS Indirectly ruled that FHFA conservator has nationalized private companies but did not say that, that is without the legal authority. SCOTUS made the laws for congress from the bench chipping the foundation of its own credibility, free market capitalism and democracy.
"I'll take "because the highest court in the land just gave everyone including the defendants a Get Out of Jail Free Card along with a Do Whatever the F**k You Want Card for All Eternity" for $200, Alex."
US constitution is based on checks and balances of three independent branches of Gov with guaranteed bill of rights for the citizens.
Brazenly an exception was made for FnF conservatorship where FnF conservator can operate without any checks and balances that too when FnF conservator is a private actor. Few unelected politicians who are supposed to be apolitical and protect the rights of citizens against tyranny of bureaucracy chose to trample the rights of citizens.
"You didn't understand the tweet. There's nothing wrong with a conservator deciding to act in its best interests at some point during the Conservatorship."
Wise Man,
No, It is never right for a plain conservator (in contrast to insuring conservator) to act in the best interest of anyone other than Conservatees.
There are serious flaws in the HERA clause that allow FHFA Conservator to act in the best interest of FHFA. FHFA is a bureaucratic regulator/conservator that has no financial or insurance obligations to FnF. So It makes no sense to allow FHFA conservator to act in the best interest of FHFA. So the moment FHFA conservator starts acting in the best interest of FHFA(Gov) or public, it is using private property for gov/public use and attracts compensation provisions of 5th amendment.
(nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.).
FDIC conservator and FHFA conservators are not the same. FDIC conservator is a insuring corporation that has its own financial interests to protect whether in conservatorship or receivership. Because of this when FDIC acts in its own best interest it does not violate 5th amendment.
For this reason it was totally wrong to copy such FDIC insurance related clauses and create flawed HERA Act. SCOTUS should have seen this anomaly and struck down this clause as not applicable to FHFA on principles of constitutional avoidance.
(Constitutional Avoidance is the principal that, if possible, the Supreme Court should avoid ruling on constitutional issues, and resolve the cases before them on other (usually statutory) grounds.)
Plaintiffs should present this argument to reverse the NWS from day one.
"I think in the AIG case, Timothy Geithner and Ben Bernanke testified."
It is clear from Hanks book that Dubya was actively involved in imposing conservatorship. So far Barry is not found on any of the disclosed documents but it looks he was involved in NWS decisions. Not sure how much Joe was involved in NWS decisions.
"***BOOM***EXPLANATION OF THE INCIDENTAL POWER OF THE CONSERVATOR."
The financially and technically illiterate judges do not even understand differences between FDIC, a deposit insurance corporation and FHFA a purely regulatory bureaucratic agency.
As a insurer FDIC pays depositor any losses in their deposits with the banks. So FDIC has legal rights to act in its own interest to minimize the losses.
FHFA is not a financial institution and is not involved in any such payouts. FnF MBS are not insured or guaranteed by any one. Investors take the losses in case of bankruptcy.
If people were to understand these simple facts they would not be making such meaningless laws (this include the man who helped to draft HERA) and the people will not be interpreting these clauses in such meaningless manner. No where in the world Conservators are allowed to make decisions in the best interest of themselves at the cost of conservatees. In the case of FDIC it is both insurer and conservator and one can understand the application of the clause.
Please do post comments with any other views.
It is amazing that most learned Justices made wrong interpretation of the clause without understand the purpose of it. In fact the SCOTUS should have struck down the clause as not applicable or moot in case of FHFA.
"I think none of the lawsuits have gone to trial yet and in America we don't do secret trials smile, so all the court transcripts will be available and in essence we can see inside the courtroom."
So far FnF conservator has been very successful in avoiding any trials with the help of ever agreeing judiciary, where mostly revolving door bureaucrats get appointed and promoted for being loyal supporters of administration. Judiciary has become Achille's heel for free market capitalism and democracy. Judiciary has also cancelled out most of the bill of rights all along.
FnF Conservator will try every possible trick to avoid cases going to trial. FnF Conservator is really scared of any trials with its cupboards full of restless skeletons ready to expose all the sordid tales of conspiracy and lawlessness to harm private companies and shareholders. With so many secrets unexposed God only knows what to expect in trials. Probably most of the senior WH appointees including POTUS may be called to testify.
"30th was just the moment all the stars were aligned."
It is shame that they aligned to circumvent and defeat the individual rights provided by the constitution.
"Sadly, I don't see it happening that way. This is buried too deep for too long."
Who would have ever thought that the FHFA Director will himself create a way to kick himself out of office.
When Biden administration is planning to spend so much money and needs the help from capital markets to raise the money, the administration can not afford to have uncertainty, anti-investor laws and policies. It serves Biden administration well to have investor friendly laws and policies.
Any acts by Administration, Congress, Judiciary and Media that undermines credibility of US and also as land of political risk will certainly drive away investors from US.
BTW knowing all the harebrained rulings in FnF cases, will you ever think of investing in FnF securities and any public-private joint ventures.
"Nahhh. He is in the same spot as LBJ in 1968. Spending out of control and the government doesn't need another big dose of debt on its books."
Good point. Deficit spending does not seem to have any limits. By the end of first term, probably the deficit will be around 50T.
"So SCOTUS upholds states voting integrity laws and first amendments rights. But shareholders rights-nahh not so much......"
These judges never care about individual rights. Judges are only worried about rights of well organized lobbyists, media and politicians and about themselves.
"it's over because it is in conservatorship. Forced c-ship based on manipulated books that was never challenged, and now not only unchallenged but given the blessing of the court to continue unfettered."
Hope some brainy attorneys, honest/patriotic judges and bureaucrats will see the mischief committed by FnF conservatorship and correct it.
FnF conservatorship needs all the wins but FnF shareholders need only one win. Truth always prevails.
All the lawlessness of Hank, Ob will come out once the the cases go to trial.
"If the GSE's ongoing saga was a fight, the ref would have stopped it...
IT'S
OVER"
If it is over then why it is still in conservatorship?
Congress can nationalize them instead of trying to harm the investors?
"maybe it's time to see who on scotus was invested with a firm that shorted F & F"
LOL, Yes, ruling does not look not kosher.
Some people were already predicting the ruling based on the PPS before ruling.
"That's why I've stated a million times that by NOT challenging the validity and legality of the actual Conservatorship, and not just the NWS within the C-Ship, the plaintiffs attorneys made a fatal mistake, which can NOT be re-visited now."
Agree. The FnF Conservatorship has been well orchestrated scam even long before HERA was passed.
Constitution clearly prohibits making laws to target individuals or individual companies. Plaintiffs attorneys have never questioned validity of HERA that has targeted private companies FnF but does nothing to other private companies that are engaged in similar business.
Why conservatorship rules are different for FnF? SCOTUS should have addressed this aspect. SCOTUS may have started the process of destroying free market capitalism with this ruling. Conservatorship and receivership are very important roles in free market capitalism and Judiciary has messed up the understanding of these roles. With this SCOTUS ruling why would anyone invest in any ventures that involve Gov.
May be it is to time have some checks and balances on SCOTUS.
"At FSOC, Calabria Takes One Last Swipe at the GSEs"
Mark Calabria was the biggest risk to the economy.
"This fact, that Fannie and Freddie were solvent and forced into taking a bailout, must be found to be factual in court, essential to our case.
"
Good post with real facts.
"Wonder why the judicial system allows this to happen. It's been 13 years. And, illegal taking is so obvious. Judges in SCOTUS are shameful to be called Justices."
It is also fault of the attorneys for the plaintiff. Justices/Judges do not provide legal advises on how file and present the cases. But Justices and judges are not there to just sit and allow tyranny and abuse by the bureaucracy.
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_attainder"
The United States Constitution forbids legislative bills of attainder: in federal law under Article I, Section 9, Clause 3 ("No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed"), and in state law under Article I, Section 10. The fact that they were banned even under state law reflects the importance that the Framers attached to this issue.
Within the U.S. Constitution, the clauses forbidding attainder laws serve two purposes. First, they reinforce the separation of powers by forbidding the legislature to perform judicial or executive functions, as a bill of attainder necessarily does. Second, they embody the concept of due process, which is reinforced by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.
Clearly HERA solely targets and victimizes FnF, the twin private shareholder companies and its shareholders. SCOTUS should have struck down HERA in its entirety because of constitutional prohibition of such laws targeting specific individuals and companies.
All are welcome to post views on this.
HappyAlways, Thanks for feedback.
"SCOTUS LIED STATING THAT THE NWS ENDED IN JANUARY 2021."
There are many factually false statements in the ruling. To begin with, SCOTUS uses the same false propaganda narratives of FHFA conservator filing in its introduction to the case.
4th amendment does not cancel the NWS. NWS still continues but it is in the form of increase in SPS value instead of cash dividend. So how can prospective relief be legally moot?
Judges have clearly shown their lack of understanding of the case.
"We may get a new SCOTUS hearing yet! If more media and legal eagles keep slamming this decision....who knows?"
FnF conservatorship committed highly complex white collar fraud/robbery with the help of vast bureaucratic power, purposely created vague laws, unprecedented secrecy, anti shareholder propaganda, media complicity, pro bureaucratic judiciary, financially and technically illiterate judges and deep pocket lobbying by private financial establishment. The biggest advantage FnF conservatorship has is, it is a Gov agency which conveniently dons the guise of a private actor, but has the immense power and vast resources of Gov. Also equally unsure soft legal strategy of plaintiffs gave Judiciary needed excuses to rule in favor of FHFA.
Attorneys for plaintiffs should stop giving excuses to judiciary to rule against them. Attorneys for plaintiff should present the hard hitting true nature of the white collar fraud/robbery committed by the FnF conservator and get justice for their clients.
"Assuming this is a takings claim, who gets the money and how much is there to go around?"
FnF as private shareholder companies would be primary beneficiaries because FHFA commandeered FnF and its assets for public policy purposes. Also FHFA conservator impounded FnF capital using various nefarious methods. So obviously this benefits all shareholders.
Not sure how much compensation JPS and CS holders will get. It depends on how courts misinterpret ownership rights of shareholders and when they bought it.
"What’s left to remand?"
SCOTUS allowed Gov to do whatever it wants and then it is expecting shareholder to claim (constitutional) compensation from Gov. This seems to be remanded to lower courts.
"I mean how is it POSSIBLE that Britney Spears will get out of conservatorship via the courts and we cannot? If you think too hard about the complete joke this decision was it will drive you mad."
Some one needs to file criminal complaint against FHFA conservator (private actor as per self declaration as well court rulings) for misappropriating assets of conservatees and also mismanaging the companies to bankrupt them.
Also petition for release from abusive Conservatorship.
"For those feel betray by coward court ..."
Judiciary has never stood for the rights of the people. It is amazing that it needed more than 6 months to rule on simple question of day time robbery. Probably they needed that much time to come up with excuses to defend the day time robbery of private companies.
Despite all the legal mumbo jumbo, the simple truth is, revolving door bureaucrats and politicians actively and surreptitiously conspired with wall street establishment to bankrupt the private shareholder companies causing immense losses to all shareholders.
The justices should have explained what would have happened to private conservators if private conservators were to act like private FHFA Conservator. Also they should have explained why it is not a crime if it is committed by a FHFA conservator acting as a private actor.
Judiciary should invalidate all the laws and acts of Gov that violate constitution and bill of rights instead of making people to seek compensation for illegal acts of Gov. Common people do not have time, money and expertise to seek compensation in courts. In the first place Gov should not be making such controversial laws and bureaucrats should not be acting in such unlawful manner.
Also attorneys for plaintiff should explain to courts, the core facts of the case in simple manner rather than try to complicate the issue at the core with the convoluted legal verbiage. Also relate the case issues to suffering of common people because of bureaucratic abuse and tyranny.
"While it's mainly doom and gloom today, let's look at the bright side of the ruling:"
Very good points. Shareholders needed to win on atleast one or two points and shareholders got it - constitutional rights to sue and get compensated for taking their property.
One needs to remember that Gov/FHFA needs to win on all counts in all the courts but it is enough for FnF shareholders to win only on few points. This will make Gov either settle with Shareholders or end Conservatorship. No Gov wants to be on historical records for violating rights of its own citizens and that too when it comes to US Gov (purported to be leader of free world) it is much more so.
"I get it, but we aren't in THIS situation because of Calabria and he was actually one of the FEW that wanted to get them out of conservatorship. IMO . . . we should have been paying more attention when DeMarco left."
Did not Calabria create false hopes with his articles and interviews before the appointment. But after appointment he acted totally differently.
If he were to end conservatorship in the first year itself then the case would not have gone to SCOTUS and he could have enjoyed full 5 year term.
"At least Calabria wanted to get them out of government control."
He proved himself for worse fool than anyone imagined.
Now administration will use FnF for far worse purposes than that Calabria was trying to avoid.