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Your Call: Why the Justice Department fails to prosecute white-collar criminals

  

After the savings-and-loan scandal of the 1980s, 1,100 people were prosecuted, including top executives at many of the largest failed banks. After the 2008 financial crisis, the government charged just 47 low-level employees.

In his new book, The Chickenshit Club, Propublica’s Jesse Eisinger traces the history of white-collar criminals and why President Obama’s DOJ failed to hold the wealthy and political elites accountable. 

Guest:

Jesse Eisinger, senior reporter and editor at ProPublica, and author of The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives

Web Resources:

The New York Times: America’s Top Prosecutors Used to Go After Top Executives. What Changed?

The New Yorker: Why Corrupt Bankers Avoid Jail

FT: The Chickenshit Club by Jesse Eisinger — what happened to the DOJ?

Rose Aguilar has been the host of Your Call since 2006. She became a regular media roundtable guest in 2001. In 2019, the San Francisco Press Club named Your Call the best public affairs program. In 2017, The Nation named it the most valuable local radio show.