The chickenshit club

No cover — Jesse Eisinger: The chickenshit club (2017)

377 pages

English language

Published Jan. 7, 2017

ISBN:: 978-1-5011-2136-4
OCLC Number:: 975364594

(2 reviews)

"Why were no bankers put in prison after the financial crisis of 2008? Why do CEOs seem to commit wrongdoing with impunity? The problem goes beyond banks deemed "Too Big to Fail" to almost every large corporation in America-- to pharmaceutical companies and auto manufacturers and beyond. The Chickenshit Club-- an inside reference to prosecutors too scared of failure and too daunted by legal impediments to do their jobs-- explains why. A character-driven narrative, the book tells the story from inside the Department of Justice. The complex and richly reported story spans the last decade and a half of prosecutorial fiascos, corporate lobbying, trial losses, and culture shifts that have stripped the government of the will and ability to prosecute top corporate executives. Exposing one of the most important scandals of our time, [this book] provides a clear, detailed explanation as to how our Justice Department has come to avoid, …

"Why were no bankers put in prison after the financial crisis of 2008? Why do CEOs seem to commit wrongdoing with impunity? The problem goes beyond banks deemed "Too Big to Fail" to almost every large corporation in America-- to pharmaceutical companies and auto manufacturers and beyond. The Chickenshit Club-- an inside reference to prosecutors too scared of failure and too daunted by legal impediments to do their jobs-- explains why. A character-driven narrative, the book tells the story from inside the Department of Justice. The complex and richly reported story spans the last decade and a half of prosecutorial fiascos, corporate lobbying, trial losses, and culture shifts that have stripped the government of the will and ability to prosecute top corporate executives. Exposing one of the most important scandals of our time, [this book] provides a clear, detailed explanation as to how our Justice Department has come to avoid, bungle, and mismanage the fight to bring these alleged criminals to justice."--Amazon.

4 editions

gimley reviewed The chickenshit club by Jesse Eisinger

Review of 'The chickenshit club' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

We learn early on that the titular club refers to those lawyers who won't prosecute a case unless they're sure to win. The term was created (or at least first used publicly) by James Comey, indicating that such prosecutors have nothing to be proud of. Since it's the title of the book, you'd think that would be the answer to the question implied in the subtitle, but it's not. Or at least that's just part of the story.

There's a naive view of the law that if you break it and are caught, you pay the penalty. It was my naive view. It went along with this being a government of laws and not of men. In actuality, the law is just a tool in a complicated social and political matrix. You can be accused of being anti-business. You can hurt the stockholders or the employees but not the actual …

We learn early on that the titular club refers to those lawyers who won't prosecute a case unless they're sure to win. The term was created (or at least first used publicly) by James Comey, indicating that such prosecutors have nothing to be proud of. Since it's the title of the book, you'd think that would be the answer to the question implied in the subtitle, but it's not. Or at least that's just part of the story.

There's a naive view of the law that if you break it and are caught, you pay the penalty. It was my naive view. It went along with this being a government of laws and not of men. In actuality, the law is just a tool in a complicated social and political matrix. You can be accused of being anti-business. You can hurt the stockholders or the employees but not the actual wrong-doers. And, you can be accused of hurting the wrong people potentially, and of hurting the economy. Etc.

Ultimately, the book tells the story of strong personalities (lawyers, judges, CEOs, politicians) battling each other while the actual legal case is just background.

Now you know. Should you read the book? Sure. Mr. Eisenger can tell a good story.

darkejokero

rated it

Sept. 11, 2017

Subjects

Administration of Criminal justice
United States. Department of Justice
Social aspects
Corporation law
Prosecution
Criminal provisions
Corrupt practices
United States
Commercial crimes
Legal status, laws
Corporations
White collar crimes
Decision making
Executives

Places

United States