CNN: Some are blaming the [Securities and Exchange Commission], saying for years they did not investigate any claims. Chairman Christopher Cox said there were some credible accusations against Madoff made nearly a decade ago that were never referred to the commission to act. So what's your take on the oversight, how the SEC and government handled this?
Trump: I would not blame the SEC. This guy was a total crook. The people in his own organization supposedly didn't know about it. Now, that's another thing; I find that hard to believe. He's got two sons, and they didn't know about it? And they worked there for years? I think the whole thing is a swindle. I think even that's a swindle: The father said, "Look, you guys turn me in and pretend you don't know anything and I'll save my two sons." But it's impossible for me to believe that his sons didn't know about this.
CNN: So you also think it's impossible that he acted alone.
Trump: I don't know how you could act alone. They had three floors of a major office building. How could one man be manipulating that much money without all of the people knowing -- without at least a large number of the people knowing about it? So I would certainly think that his sons are guilty.
Trump: Madoff a 'sleazebag' [CNN]
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 1:43PM
too bad this didn't happen around Halloween, I would've cornered the Bernie Mask market
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 1:43PM
Donald is that real hair i see?
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 1:47PM
Donnie should have a Celebrity-Con Apprentice show.
Posted by NAS Keflavik boi , Dec 18, 2008 1:48PM
..and who would know more about being a "sleazebag" than trump the hump
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 1:48PM
So Trump owes one to Cox, for what? The possibilities are endless.
Posted by Lowly Assistant , Dec 18, 2008 1:49PM
Anal_yst, if you're out there, thanks for bringing my day to a screeching halt by way of misery and misanthropic thoughts (WSJ Sparks article, listed a few threads back).
As an avid consumer of Sparks Blue (diabetic - type-1), I'm not only disheartened but also frightened for our legal system. I guess it's back to vodka in water bottles, while careening through the fucked-up streets of life.
January 10, 2009: the day fun died.
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 1:50PM
Too long; didn't read.
Posted by Lowly Assistant , Dec 18, 2008 1:51PM
Anal_yst, if you're out there, thanks for bringing my day to a screeching halt by way of misery and misanthropic thoughts (WSJ Sparks article, listed a few threads back).
As an avid consumer of Sparks Blue (diabetic - type-1), I'm not only disheartened but also frightened for our legal system. I guess it's back to vodka in water bottles, while careening through the fucked-up streets of life.
January 10, 2009: the day fun died.
Posted by Jesse , Dec 18, 2008 1:51PM
Donald, you're pardoned!
Posted by Clown Capital , Dec 18, 2008 1:52PM
WHOA!!!
He's out of control!!! He just threw Madoff's sons in the conflagration based strictly on conjecture!
I hate this mothafucka. He might not be doing the Ponzoff (see what I did there?) scheme but he's doing the Trump scheme. I bet you he sucks his own dick and swallows...
Posted by cy , Dec 18, 2008 1:56PM
What I don't get is that it seems this guy built a reputable, non-fraudulent broker/dealer from scratch. I can't imagine how much value running a fraudulent investment vehicle added to his personal utility. I just don't get it when already well-off people take ridiculous risks that won't add much to their current lifestyles.
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 2:00PM
@11 why do you think King Ferdinand sent Columbus to the new world? You can never have enough money or power.
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 2:09PM
Isn't this legally considered slander?
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 2:15PM
@11
bad trades...probably added to them
dug himself a hole...couldn't face buddies at the club...pride takes over....he thinks "i can fix this i just need to do enough positive trades" and then undo what i've done...then more bad trades...
then voila ponzi scheme
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 2:16PM
he's basically saying outloud what many are thinking.
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 2:27PM
14- exactamundo
-Fonzi scheme
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 2:36PM
@ Lowly - Try drinking vodka-diets (aka skinny bitches)... my personal favorite and rarely gives me hangovers. Or there's always the vodka-sugar free redbull, if you want the caffeine.
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 2:38PM
@14 That's what I think happened. A ponzi scheme will always fall apart, at some point you just can't get enough new people to join to cover the payouts. I can't see anyone starting one up without having an escape route.
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 2:52PM
but in the end, dontcha think Bernie thinks to himself, "It was all worth it"?
Posted by american bandersnatch , Dec 18, 2008 2:53PM
@16 - Nice
Posted by Lowly Assistant , Dec 18, 2008 2:53PM
17,
Thanks for the help. I do believe starting January 11, said "Skinny Bitches" are in order. The thing that fucking pisses me off is that Sparks was a pre-packaged, street-legal fix on the run. Maybe it's time to go the way of Rx. A sad day, indeed.
Posted by Anal_yst , Dec 18, 2008 2:54PM
@ Lowly
Ignorance is not bliss, contrary to popular belief, switch to, as #17 suggests, RB (sf)+ V, no problem.
Or, as I've tried (painfully) you can redbull your beer, ughhh
Posted by Lowly Assistant , Dec 18, 2008 3:07PM
Anal_yst,
Although I hated the WSJ article and prefer my ignorance, at least I have time to plan. I remember a few years ago, Anheuser (sp?) dropped that shitty redbull/beer combo on the market, and it was disgusting. Sparks leaves that fine aluminum taste on the palate. All you needed to do was wrap the can with a napkin, and no one was the wiser. I mean, downtown and mid-east is so easy to pull off drinking on the go anyhow, but mixing on le street just makes the process that much more burdensome. These fucking AG fascists... And a $550,000 legal fee settlement...I fucking hate our government. But, alas, gov. positions are so much smarter than the average consumer, and they're looking out for our health (see: sin tax, et al.). What a bunch of shit.
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 3:11PM
Let us not forget the eponymous "Fozzie Scheme" where Fozzie Bear dupes Rowlf the Muppet Dog and the two old dudes i the balcony into letting some big human dude stick his arm up his ass for the entire show.
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 3:42PM
did the sons do any fly fishing?
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 3:59PM
@13, a statement of opinion is not slander.
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 4:17PM
14 got it dead-on. As a former trader, I worked with some 2 "star" traders, best of the best, who dug themselves into a hole they couldn't climb their way out of, and eventually got caught trying to cover their tracks with false trades.
Ponzi scheme, crooked traders: it can happen to the most "reputable" of them.
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 4:39PM
Nobody can touch The Donald - he says whatever he wants about anyone (even if it goes into slander territory). He's been doing this for years.
In Made-off's case, looks like a pig, smells like a pig, is a pig. The Donald called it.
Posted by guest , Dec 18, 2008 4:44PM
i lost a shitton of cache, got afeard of the wife, doubled down and lost more...happens even to smart mugs like me
cept it was my own money...
Posted by guest , Dec 19, 2008 12:29AM
Bess, will you be my cum receptacle?
Posted by guest , Dec 19, 2008 8:58AM
Donald
takes one to know one
Madoff