"Never let a serious crisis go to waste." Okay, we won't!

"Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before." - White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Nov. 9, 2008

TAXPAYER CAUTION: The following post describes billing by potentially exuberant lawyers. Those under a physician's care should assure their current dosage has been administered before reading further! [Emphasis mine]

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September 29, 2011 - WASHINGTON (Reuters)

Audit Questions Millions in Fees for Legal Work in Bank Bailout

The federal government’s bank bailout program paid more than $9 million in legal fees to law firms that submitted questionable bills with little or no details on services provided, the agency’s watchdog said in a report released on Thursday.

The special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said auditors questioned $8.1 million of a sampling of $9.1 million in bills from four law firms paid by Treasury’s Office of Financial Stability.

Particularly problematic were $5.8 million in fees and expenses billed by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett without any detail of work performed,” the report said.

Fee problems from law firms assisting the Treasury Department have been more prevalent than previously known.

Asked for comment on the report, a Simpson Thacher spokeswoman e-mailed a statement saying the firm’s lawyers were “honored” to work with the Treasury “during an unprecedented and extremely challenging time.” The statement added that “our team of highly qualified lawyers worked closely with the Treasury staff on a daily basis to structure and implement [the Troubled Asset Relief Program] that played a key role in stabilizing the US financial system.” source The BLT -David Ingram

Submarines are always silent and strange.