The Chickenshit Club : Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives

In January 2002, James Comey became the fifty-eighth US attorney for the Southern District of Manhattan. After a few months on the job, he gave a speech to the criminal division prosecutors. The lawyers in that room were the nation's elite. High achievers and hard workers, they had summered as associates at the most powerful law firms and clerked for the finest judges. Comey asked the prosecutors a question: "Who here has never had an acquittal or a hung jury?" This group thought of themselves as the best trial lawyers in the country. Hands shot up. "I have a name for you guys" Comey said. "You are members of what we like to call the Chickenshit Club." Comey's speech, it turns out, would be feckless. Since then, the dub has only grown. After all, no top bankers from the top financial firms went to prison for the malfeasance that led to the 2008 financial crisis. CEOs seem to commit wrongdoing with impunity and the problem extends far beyond finance-to pharmaceutical companies, tech giants, auto manufacturers, and more. Exposing one of the most important scandals of our time, The Chickenshit Club shows how our Justice Department has come to avoid, bungle, and mismanage the fight to bring these alleged criminals to justice. Book jacket.