Amazon Adds Jamie Gorlick, Formerly of Fannie and BP, to Board

by Stephan Tawney on February 14, 2012

Good Lord. A short history of Gorlick’s employment:

In 2004, observers were “astonished” to discover that a key member of the 9/11 Commission had a fatal conflict-of-interest. Jamie Gorelick had served as a Deputy Attorney General under Bill Clinton from 1994 to 1997. It was later revealed that Gorelick had established a pre-Patriot Act “wall” that prevented the foreign intelligence and criminal investigative communities from collaborating. Gorelick’s wall “specifically impeded the investigation into Zacarias Moussaoui”, the so-called “20th hijacker.”

Where did she turn up after that delightful stint in Justice? Though she had no training or experience in finance, Gorelick was appointed the Vice Chairman of Fannie Mae and served in the role from 1997 to 2003. During that six-year period, she earned over $26 million. During Gorelick’s tenure, FNMA suffered a $10 billion accounting scandal, an ominous harbinger of the firm’s looming troubles. FNMA’s 2008 collapse, of course, helped touch off the mortgage meltdown.

Fannie Mae. Public relations for BP. Establishing the disastrous pre-9/11 intelligence wall. And, oh yes, defense lawyer for Duke University during the Duke lacrosse scandal.

It may be time for me to dump that Amazon stock.



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