While I’m still in shock that we have at least two senators that actually ‘get it’, it’s still depressing that we have more than seventy (I’m simply being kind) who don’t. Throw in several generations of industry insiders taking over regulatory roles, embedded corporatists throughout our judicial system, news agencies and government, and it’s a wonder that government hearings on accountability even happen.

Help isn’t going to come from the Right, nor the center.

Bad news for Wall Street. A Senator Tim Johnson announces his retirement the Senate Banking Committee Chairmanship may fall to one of Wall Street’s biggest enemies, Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren officially received her committee assignments today, and she will sit on the Senate Banking Committee, with key oversight over Wall Street and the financial system. Progressives agitated for weeks for Warren to get this spot, and in the end it wasn’t that difficult a lift. I’m looking forward to future hearings from the committee, especially when Wall Street’s finest makes the trip to testify.

It will be a welcome sight to see an actual cross-examiner in committee hearings, to see Wall Street executives actually grilled by at least one member rather than the love-fests we normally see. Warren has stated that she envisions the Senate as a platform to highlight her views. I can’t think of a better foundation for that platform than the Banking Committee.

The prospects for Elizabeth Warren nabbing a spot on the Senate Banking Committee brightened in recent days.

Having failed to stop Elizabeth Warren from reaching the US Senate, Wall Street interests are now clearly trying to push her away from the committee assignment where she would have the greatest oversight capability over them.

House Democrats have a chance to show Jamie Dimon that he isn’t the King of America. Let’s hope they don’t follow the example of the lapdog millionaires in the Senate.

So here’s me and William Cohan on yesterday’s The Alyona Show talking about that Jamie Dimon testimony yesterday. I have to admit a little shock at the focus of the coverage on the captured Congress and the relative soft pitches lobbed in Dimon’s direction.

I’m wondering what people expected. This wasn’t the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Carl Levin’s committee, which gave the most brutal hearing of the financial crisis to members of Goldman Sachs’ team. This is the Banking Committee. Most of its members are effectively employees of JPMorgan Chase and the other Wall Street banks. Many of its staffers are actual former employees. Many of the lobbyists of these banks are former staffers to these Senators. This is where bank-friendly Senators go to ensure the most campaign contributions. There was a moment of time after banks blew up the world’s economy where they could be expected to get a brushback from a committee like this, but that time has passed.

During today’s hearing, Sen. Kohl asked Jamie Dimon about constituents would call claiming that the banks often lose their documentation while claiming to be processing writedowns, refinance or other relief. Dimon said that people should just sent the problems to him personally, and he’ll take care of it. Right.

The Senate Banking Committee hearing with Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase is scheduled to begin at this hour. A preview of today’s proceedings, including Jamie Dimon’s written testimony, is available here. You can watch the hearing on C-SPAN. I’ll add my comments below. …well, the hearing started with a bang. Foreclosure activists screamed at Jamie [...]