Krugman - what should have been

[Peter K.]

People seem to forget that Ashcroft's Justice Department put Andersen out of
business by prosecuting them as a corporation. Perhaps at the time the scandals appeared more
threatening to the establisment than they turned out to be, but there seems to be a lefty blindspot
here.


>BTW, question for the legal gallery: did Guiliani have any more levers at
>his disposal than Spitzer did on account of being (a) a Federal rather
>than a state prosecutor and (b) a Republican when the Republicans were in
>power?
>
>Michael
>Power to do what, specifically? A state prosecutor may enforce federal laws (in state court of
course). As for actual exercise of one's powers, it probably helps to be a member of the party in
power. Seems from my recollection that Guiliani as a prosecutor went after bad guys like Milikan and
Bosky rather than bad companies and industries, which is harder row to hoe. There was an Indiana DA
a decade or so ago who actually prosecuted Ford for negligent or reckless homicide in connection
with exploding Ford Pintos. He lost in court, but it was a brave and perhaps a reckless thing to do.
>jks