The Chickenshit Club – Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives by Jesse Eisinger – A Book Review by Bill Dahl. Simon & Schuster, NY, NY. 2017.
Eisinger is a Pulitzer Prize winner…among a laundry list of other investigative journalism awards. This book sears/injects an appreciation for that distinctive talent into the soul of the reader. Believe me…
James Comey, then (January 2002) U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Manhattan asked a gathering of his personnel: “Who has never had an acquittal or a hung jury?” Hands were raised in the audience before him. He replied, “Well, welcome to the Chickenshit Club!”
When you finish a book – and have an overwhelming impulse to launch the book through the nearest plate glass window – you know you have had a literary experience that is both unique – and overwhelming. This book is just that superb (and that was my reaction when I finished it). You cannot avoid the ever increasing disgust and anger that the book generates in your soul. PERIOD.
If you have ever wondered why senior executives were never prosecuted who were involved in financial crimes of the last 40 years – Read this book! Furthermore, the future of prosecuting these types of people does not bode well. The back flap of the book states: “The Chickenshit Club shows how our Justice Department has come to avoid, bungle, and mismanage the fight to bring these executives to justice – and what it will take to restore it to its former capacity.”
Honestly, that’s a half truth. What is NOT apparent to the reader is what it will take to restore it to its former capacity.” Clearly – the revolving door between the Justice Department and major law firms in D.C., Virginia and New York is culpable as an entrenched source of the ongoing energy required to maintain The Chickenshit Club. Furthermore, the make-up of the current Supreme Court does not bode well for the prosecution of executives engaged in egregious financial malfeasance. Finally, the stance of the Trump administration on business regulation/litigation does NOT bode well for the essential enhancements that must be made.
Be prepared to take numerous VERY long walks, breathing deeply as you digest this volume. If you don’t – there will be additional costs to repair/replace the nearest plate glass window. This is a terribly, uniquely, important work. The stench this volume unearths will ever remind you of the scent of chickenshit. PERIOD!
Superb. Phenomenal. Demands ongoing dialog. Buy it!!! WARNING: Avoid Breakable Objects When Reading!!!
