Is Goldman Case Politically Motivated?

Taking a page from the firm’s public-relations playbook, Republicans are asking whether the Securities and Exchange Commission’s suit against Goldman Sachs is politically motivated. In a letter to the head of the SEC, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the ranking Republican member of the House Oversight Committee, demanded SEC documents on the case, including any contacts the SEC had with the White House and other Democrats before the charges were made public. President Obama is making a big push for financial regulatory reform, and Issa says the timing of the SEC case presents “serious questions about the commission’s independence and impartiality.” The letter, signed by eight other House Republicans, also asks for all communications with The New York Times and other press before the case was made public. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel brushed aside the allegations Monday on Charlie Rose, saying “[E]verybody at the White House found out like everybody else: when it hit the news.”