MSNBC "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" - Transcript

MSNBC "COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN" INTERVIEW WITH REP. MAXINE WATERS (D-CA) INTERVIEWER: KEITH OLBERMANN

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MR. OLBERMANN: Congresswoman Waters joins us now from Washington.

Thanks for some of your time tonight.

REP. WATERS: You're welcome, Keith.

MR. OLBERMANN: Did the hearings reveal to you anything you didn't know already? What did you learn, if anything, here today?

REP. WATERS: Well, I was more interested in trying to understand whether or not they really got it and that they understood that the American taxpayers were basically bailing them out, and they had a responsibility to unfreeze the credit. They had a responsibility to say to those American taxpayers, who are putting money into their banks, that they would make money available to them for their basic everyday needs.

We have citizens who are trying to get loans for cars, mortgages, to pay for their students' college fees, et cetera. And they don't seem to know that the very people that are giving them the money, who are knocking on their doors asking for credit, should not be turned down. And I was trying to really figure out what did they know, what did they understand, what did they expect was going to happen in the future.

The thing that I got out of it today was we put them before the public. We had transparency on a number of these issues. I forced them to have to tell that they are increasing the interest rate on credit cards even after the taxpayers have given them this bailout money.

MR. OLBERMANN: So answer your question there. I mean, Mr. Pandit from Citigroup said, "We need to do a better job of acknowledging and embracing the new realities." Was that an indication that some of them got it, or did you sense this was largely still a performance on their part?

REP. WATERS: No, I think that we're getting through. I think they hated the idea of having to come before these mere mortals today to confess that they have not done what we expected them to do. Don't forget, these are very, very rich men who are not accustomed to answering to anybody. As a matter of fact, they are more accustomed to having influence in the Congress of the United States because of all of the money that they put into politicians.

So this was not comfortable for them. I don't think they want to be back here. And I do expect that there are going to be some changes. We've got to keep after them, though. They don't give in easily. But I think we've got them on the run.

MR. OLBERMANN: So you raised a point that is probably closer to the heart of most Americans than the headlines that have been about the corporate jets and the bonuses -- the question of credit card rates and what it's actually doing to the on-the-line consumer. But let me ask you about those sort of big-ticket horror stories -- the bonus money, the bailout money that essentially turns into bonus money for the jets and all the rest of that. Is there anything that can be tangibly done to make sure that future bailout money does not get redirected into the pockets of these already rich men?

REP. WATERS: Oh, absolutely. As a matter of fact, we have 350 billion more dollars in bailout, the TARP money, that's going to be released pretty soon. And Secretary Geithner was on television last night speaking to the public about what is going to happen with that money now. There was some disappointment that he didn't give a lot of details; he just kind of talked in generalities. But we fully expect that the package that they bring to the Congress of the United States will have more details in it, and we have more details to suggest to them.

MR. OLBERMANN: The detail that comes out of that letter from the attorney general of New York, Mr. Cuomo, that Bank of America was apparently, he believes, at least as a result of the initial investigation he's conducted, was apparently complicit in awarding those bonuses out before -- essentially to beat the merger, to beat the oversight.

REP. WATERS: I believe that too. I didn't like Mr. Lewis's answer today. I thought that he skirted the question a bit. But I think it's becoming clear that he knew about those bonuses prior to signing off on the deal, that he was aware that they were going to give them out earlier than normal. And I don't think he's going to be able to get away with that. I think this investigation is going to unveil the facts.

MR. OLBERMANN: Is that best left for the attorney general of one state, or is that your purview?

REP. WATERS: Well, actually, you know, I was reminded today that we set public policy. We're not the cops. We don't have the ability to basically put them in jail. But I'm glad that the attorney general of New York is opening this all up, and this may force the attorney general of the United States to have to get more involved.

MR. OLBERMANN: Lastly, Congresswoman, Senator Snowe of Maine said today she thinks that that executive pay cap that the president wanted -- first $400,000, now half a million -- is likely to be left out of the final version of the stimulus. Are you okay with that?

REP. WATERS: No, I'm not okay with it. I'm not okay with the fact that anybody would think that somehow we don't have the duty or the responsibility to deal with the outrageous pay and bonuses that they get. And it should be in the stimulus. If it's not in the stimulus, it should be in the TARP. If it's not, those of us who believe that we should regulate a lot better than we're doing are going to keep up our efforts to get it done.

MR. OLBERMANN: Congresswoman Maxine Waters, as always, it's been very illuminating. Thanks for some of your time tonight.

REP. WATERS: You're so welcome. Thank you.

END.

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