In my piece yesterday, I wrote:
[The $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund] threatens to further corrupt and politicize the banking sector in ways that the Waters case illustrates perfectly. Maxine Waters wasn’t alone in intervening to save a favored bank — Sen. Daniel Inouye (D., Hawaii) did something similar on behalf of Hawaii’s Central Pacific Financial — but hers is the most egregious case and, so far as we know, the only one where a member’s personal financial interest was at stake.
Andrew Walden of the Hawaii Free Press e-mailed me to point out that Senator Inouye in fact did have a personal financial stake in Central Pacific Financial. On his web site, Walden asks:
Could Sen. Dan Inouye be next? The US Senate equivalents of these three charges could easily be brought to bear against him if the political will exists. While Waters was allegedly seeking help for her husband’s bank, Inouye allegedly sought help for Central Pacific Bank. At the time, CPB stock made up an estimated 66% of Inouye’s personal net worth.
Good point. Any others I missed?