PART I: Speaker
Mnuchin Likely To Face Questions Over Role In Foreclosures
John Ydstie | January 19, 2017
Source: NPR News http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=510533914 [Rephrase1: 2’57’’]
PART II: Speed
Trump's Potential Treasury Secretary Headed A 'Foreclosure Machine'
JOHN YDSTIE | November 29, 2016
[Time2] After campaigning with lots of populist and anti-Wall Street rhetoric, Donald Trump is seriously considering a veteran Wall Street financier, Steve Mnuchin, to be his Treasury secretary.
Mnuchin spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs, ultimately as a partner at the investment bank. More recently, he's headed a privately owned hedge fund, Dune Capital Management. Last April he became Trump's chief fundraiser, and he's now a member of the president-elect's transition team.
But Mnuchin's resume also includes a stint as chairman and CEO of a California bank that's been called a foreclosure machine.
During the depths of the financial crisis, Mnuchin was looking to make profits from the ruins of the housing bust. In 2009, he put together a group of billionaire investors and bought a failed California-based bank, IndyMac. It had been taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. after its sketchy mortgage loans went bad.
Mnuchin and his partners bought IndyMac on the condition that the FDIC agree to pay future losses above a certain threshold. They renamed the bank OneWest Bank and, after running it for six years, they sold it last year for a profit, estimated at close to $1.5 billion.
Kevin Stein of the California Reinvestment Coalition, a housing advocacy group, says that profit was made on the backs of suffering California homeowners. "In essence what they did is they bought a foreclosure machine," he says. [231 words]
[Time3] According to the coalition, OneWest foreclosed on more than 36,000 homeowners under Mnuchin. During that time, the FDIC made payments to OneWest totaling more $1 billion. Those payments went to the "billionaire investors of OneWest Bank," says Stein, "to cover the cost of foreclosing on working-class, everyday, American folks," many of whom lived in California.
Rex Schaffer, 86, and his wife Rose were among those who lost their homes, in a OneWest foreclosure. After living nearly 50 years in their home in La Puente, Calif., the Schaffers took a home equity loan but struggled to make the payments. They say they qualified three times for a government assisted modification, but OneWest failed to modify the loan.
"It was a disaster dealing with those people," Rex Shaffer says. "We'd have a different person every time we called in." He counted 33 OneWest employees, in all, and each one would give him "a different story."
Facing threats that their home would be auctioned off, the Schaffers finally got through to a OneWest vice president. According to Rex Shaffer, the VP said, "I'm going to get you a 60-day extension on the sale date, so we can work this thing out." That was on Feb. 17, 2011. But the next day, the Schaffers' house was sold without their knowledge. "We didn't even know it — didn't have the faintest idea," Rex Shaffer says. [229 words]
[Time4] They voted for Donald Trump, but Rose Schaffer says they're praying he doesn't choose Mnuchin as his Treasury secretary. "If he can't run his own little bank," she asks, "how can he handle a large thing for the United States?"
Millions of Americans were foreclosed on after the financial crisis; some were duped by real estate agents and bankers, others took imprudent risks.
It is important to note that Mnuchin and his partners bought a bank from the government that was already in trouble because of bad loans. But Stein, of the California Reinvestment Coalition, argues that Trump's message was that his presidency would rescue working families and the forgotten middle class. Stein says Mnuchin's actions run counter to the message.
"Mr. Mnuchin oversaw a bank that created difficulties and financial ruin for tens of thousands of families," Stein says. Stein and his organization have also charged that, under Mnuchin, OneWest illegally avoided serving minority communities in California. [158 words]
Source: NPR News http://www.npr.org/2016/11/29/503755613/trumps-potential-treasury-secretary-headed-a-foreclosure-machine
Why presidents take an oath of office
Jan 18th 2017 | BY S.M.
[Time5] AT NOON on January 20th, Donald Trump will take the presidential oath of office, administered by John Roberts, the chief justice. With his right hand raised and his left hand atop two bibles, Mr Trump will say “I do solemnly swear”, (though he also has the option to “affirm”, using a book of his choice), “that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States.” If all goes according to plan, Mr Trump will then become America’s 45th president. He will deliver an inaugural address, bid farewell as Barack Obama and his family take their leave, have lunch in the Capitol building and parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.
The words quoted above come from Article II, Section 1, Clause 8 of the constitution, which requires that an incoming president takes this oath “before he enter on the execution of his office”. Presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama have been sworn in under the same formula with each change of administration and every re-election. (Most presidents have tacked on “so help me God” at the end of the oath, though the constitutional provision does not contain this divine appeal.) Other federal officials are required to take an oath as well, though Congress, not the constitution, specifies the words. Oaths of office are not an American invention. Members of parliament in Britain pledge to “be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law”. In Germany, a federal minister promises to “dedicate my efforts to the well-being of the German people...and do justice to all”. In Egypt, the president swears “to the great god Allah” to “protect the republican system...and work for the good of the people.” [308 words]
[Time6] The deliberations of America’s founders suggest that the centrepiece of the presidential oath is the pledge to “preserve, protect and defend the constitution”. These words were absent from early drafts (a version from July 1787 included only the “faithfully execute” line, with no reference to the constitution) but became a prominent theme in the eyes of presidents who took the oath. America’s third president, Thomas Jefferson, lowered expectations in his first inaugural address by declaring the presidency a “task...above my talents”; the “constitutional vigour” of the government, he declared, is “the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad”. In 1837, Martin Van Buren said “the principle that will govern me in the high duty to which my country calls me is a strict adherence to the letter and spirit of the constitution”. Nearly a century later, Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared America’s “constitutional system...the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has produced”.
There are signs that Mr Trump’s constitutional commitment may not match those of his predecessors in the White House. During the campaign and the post-election transition, Mr Trump made several statements that seem difficult to square with America’s founding document. In an apparent rejection of settled First-Amendment law—and of a ruling by the late Antonin Scalia, a justice he hails—Mr Trump said that people who burn the American flag should be jailed or lose their citizenship. He also called for looser libel laws to permit newspapers to be sued more easily and advocated the use of torture, long held to violate the Eighth Amendment. Some scholars say that the oath gives presidents a tool to protect the prerogatives of their office from the encroachment of Congress. But others argue the presidential oath was designed to serve as a check on chief executives’ power. David Strauss, a law professor at the University of Chicago, observes that oaths are inherently “limiting, not empowering”. [319 words]
Source: Economist http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2017/01/economist-explains-14
Mnuchin Defends Banking Past, Advocates Strong U.S. Dollar
by Michelle Jamrisko and Saleha Mohsin | January 19, 2017
[Paragraph 7] Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin said a strong dollar is important over the long term, noting that it’s currently “very, very strong,” and that avoiding U.S. default on the debt would be a top priority if he’s confirmed.
Mnuchin also defended his personal record as a founder of OneWest Bank amid the housing crisis, and pushed for tax reform as a key way to lift economic growth as promised by President-elect Donald Trump. Mnuchin’s comments at his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday in Washington come after Trump rattled currency markets by saying the dollar was “too strong” in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
“When the president-elect made a comment on the U.S. currency, it wasn’t meant to be a long-term comment,” Mnuchin said. “It was meant to be that perhaps in the short term the strength in the currency, as a result of free markets and people wanting to invest here, may have had some negative impacts on our ability in trade.”
The former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive-turned Hollywood movie financier fielded questions from both sides of the aisle about his business experience, including as head of hedge fund Dune Capital Management LP. While arguing that the U.S. needs to cut down on tax fraud and evasion, he asserted multiple times that his use of offshore accounts was to assist non-profits and pensions, and “in no way did I use them whatsoever to avoid any U.S. taxes.”
Economic Chief Mnuchin, noting he’s been “one of the chief architects” of Trump’s economic plans, said passing tax reform is a “major component” of the incoming administration’s growth-boosting policy stance. Trump, among changes to the tax system, has proposed cutting the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent and reducing the number of tax brackets to three from seven.
While defending his personal tax record, Mnuchin said he has concerns about the efficiency of the Internal Revenue Service, pointing to low staffing levels, “lack of first-rate technology,” privacy and cyber-security risks and a need to improve customer service.
The Treasury nominee also took questions about the U.S. debt ceiling and how the incoming administration would handle negotiations with Congress on the issue.
“I would like us to raise the debt ceiling sooner rather than later,” he said, noting that he wanted to avoid the brinkmanship that has characterized the talks with lawmakers in recent years. The U.S. has an obligation to honor its debts, he said.
U.S. debt levels at about $20 trillion are too high, he said. “The way to reduce the debt is by economic growth and that will create the opportunity for us to pay down the debt.”
Iran, Russia Mnuchin also was grilled on international sanctions, on which he said he would continue to enforce existing sanctions, including on Iran and Russia, and that he would encourage the president to use additional penalties where appropriate.
Mnuchin said he supports the Volcker Rule, which restricts deposit-taking banks from wagering their own money in markets, and said he will work to reduce overlapping bank regulation.
Aside from requests to comment on policy, Mnuchin’s past remained a dominant theme of the confirmation hearing. While Democrats alone don’t have enough votes to block his appointment, they want to underscore their opposition to Mnuchin’s financial career, including allegations of unfair lending and foreclosure practices during his time at OneWest.
Job Saver Mnuchin, 54, in his introductory remarks at the hearing, defended his record running the California lender, pushing back against Democrats who say OneWest profited from the 2008-2009 housing crash.
Mnuchin said he and a group of investors saved the failing financial institution, then named IndyMac, and salvaged thousands of jobs at the height of the crisis when most investors were “running for the hills.” After renaming it OneWest, they modified 100,000 loans to delinquent borrowers, and fought the federal government to change policies to save homes -- but lost that battle.
Democrats used the hearing to point out that in his initial questionnaire filed to the Senate, Mnuchin failed to report about $100 million in real estate and overseas holdings, such as in the Cayman Islands. Mnuchin said he didn’t list those on guidance from his lawyer, but quickly submitted the requested information.
Independent assessments of OneWest’s dealings, including by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. inspector general and the Treasury Department, gave the company “high marks,” Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah, said in remarks at the start of the hearing. Mnuchin had no involvement in the mortgage market leading up to the housing crisis, and he shouldn’t be blamed for aggravating it, said Hatch.
“No one has credibly alleged that any laws, regulations or industry standards were violated by companies run by Mr. Mnuchin,” said Hatch.
Democrat Ron Wyden, of Oregon, delivered remarks alleging Mnuchin dodged U.S. taxes by running offshore hedge funds -- an accusation Mnuchin denied. Wyden said Democrats aren’t obstructing Mnuchin’s nomination. [821 words]
Source: Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-19/mnuchin-defends-banking-past-elevates-tax-reform-before-senate | 
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