What TARP Boss Neil Barofsky Told Me Yesterday Should Shock You

"I wondered the same thing," [Barofsky] said (from memory). "It was amazing to me that no one knew. We gave it to the banks. But no one knew what they did with it. I proposed to Tim Geithner that we find out. He was outraged. He cursed me out, using the F-word. He said it would bring the whole banking system down, if I asked.''

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"The more questions I asked, the more I found myself isolated... and at odds with the Treasury Department, as well as the banks. I was having shouting matches in the Treasury. The banks hated me. And then the undersecretary of the Treasury called me into his office.

"He explained that if I eased up on the banks, I could have a very nice career after the TARP appointment expired. If I didn't play ball with them, I would find it hard to find a job.