The most dangerous place to be in New York, as a turn on the old political joke goes, is between New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and any media-friendly story of corporate wrongdoing. As frustrating as that sometimes was when working in another state’s AG’s office, it’s good — now from an outsider’s view — to know that he’s out there.
Cuomo has decided the Merrill bonuses/BoA story is golden. There is no downside. Merrill Lynch no longer exists. Thain is practically a new bad word. The financial industry’s excesses are legion. Populism is the word of the year. Bank of America is a big, bad bank fighting for secrecy and against the popular mood.
Cuomo smells blood. He’s not going to stop until he gets something. The latest is another skirmish with BoA over secrecy, care of Bloomberg:
“Bank of America is treating this matter as a commercial litigation between private parties. It is not,” Cuomo said. “Bank of America is seeking to prevent witnesses from testifying and is seeking to require advance notice of the attorney general’s investigative steps, which it is not entitled to do.”
Now, as I wrote earlier, I’m not sure what his intended end point is (nor, likely, does he), but once Cuomo decides what he can get, he will then make it clear that was his aim all along. And declare victory. That is his M.O., and that is what he will do here.
Good luck, BoA. You’re going to need it.
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Chris Geidner is the award-winning senior political editor at D.C.'s Metro Weekly and has written for The Atlantic Online, The American Prospect, Advocate.com, Salon and other publications, as well as at his blog, Law Dork. In 2011, he received the Excellence in News Writing Award from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his coverage of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal. Prior to moving to D.C. in 2009, he served as an attorney on the senior staff at the Ohio Attorney General's Office and had earlier worked for a leading Columbus law firm. An extended biography can be found