Politics

Elizabeth Warren Is Candid On Cantor, Goes Silent On Clinton

Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s new $3.4 million Wall Street gig but pulled up lame when asked about Hillary Clinton’s relationship with the financial industry.

“How wrong can this be, that basically what’s happening here is that people worked in Washington, and man, they hit that revolving door with a speed that would blind you,” Warren told Couric, of Cantor’s new job with Moelis & Co., announced Tuesday.

Warren said that politicians who make the well-worn transition from Washington to Wall Street do so “not because they bring great expertise and insight, but because they bring access.”

Warren’s candor brought up an obvious question: what about Hillary Clinton?

“I’m curious if you think Hillary Clinton is too cozy with Wall Street,” Couric said to Warren, citing disagreements between Clinton and the Democratic senator have had over such issues as bankruptcy legislation.

“You know, I worry a lot about the relationship between all of our regulators, government and Wall Street,” said Warren.

“But what about Hillary Clinton?” Couric interjected.

“I worry, across the board, and here’s part of why,” said Warren, an outspoken liberal populist. Sticking to her normal platform in the interview, Warren said that big banks have “every rule written in their favor” which “tilts the playing field” against American families.

Warren also reiterated in the interview that she has no intention of running for president in 2016, though many have urged her to do so and believe that by running to the left of Clinton, she would be the former First Lady’s biggest threat.

Should Warren decide to run, Clinton’s relationship with Wall Street and the financial services industry in general would surely become a point of contention.

Both Clinton and husband Bill have received hundreds of millions of dollars from such firms over the course of their political careers. This includes everything from political donations to lucrative speaking fees.

Since resigning as Secretary of State in 2013, Hillary Clinton has spoken at events for Bank of America, Citigroup, and the Carlyle Group, the Wall Street Journal previously reported.

The former president has been paid $1.35 million by Goldman Sachs for eight speeches.

“Frankly, she would do well to get in touch with her inner Elizabeth Warren,” Jim Dean, chairman of the liberal group Democracy for America, told the Journal of Clinton, whose wealth has become a focal point since she claimed earlier this summer that she and Bill were “nearly dead broke” after leaving the White House in 2001.

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