Sacramento, CA – Phil Angelides, who served as Chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC), issued the following statement today in response to theNational Archives and Records Administration (NARA) releasing some documents and materials related to the FCIC’s investigation into the causes of the financial crisis:
“The public has the right to see the evidence obtained by the FCIC about what and who caused the financial crisis. I applaud NARA and its staff for the initial release of materials forwarded to it by the FCIC and urge NARA to continue to undertake the broadest possible release of documents and materials related to the FCIC’s investigation into the causes of the financial crisis. It is critical that as much information as possible be made publicly available as expeditiously as possible to further the public’s understanding of the events and forces that caused the financial meltdown of 2007-2008 and that devastated our nation’s economy and millions of American families.
I look forward to the release of additional documents and materials by NARA including, but not limited to, briefings and investigatory reports provided to commissioners on various financial institutions and government agencies; documents and materials from the various financial firms and regulatory entities that were subject to case study investigations by the FCIC; materials transmitted to the Department of Justice with respect to potential violations of law; letters and interrogatories sent to witnesses and the responses thereto; and any additional interviews beyond those released by NARA today. While some government agencies or financial institutions may object to release of materials even though nine years have passed since the onset of the financial crisis, it is critical that the broader public interest prevail.”
Background
When the FCIC concluded its operations in February 2011, it determined by a vote of Commissioners that NARA should make available to the public, upon the fifth anniversary of the FCIC’s termination (February 13, 2016), the electronic records and physical documents which the FCIC delivered to NARA, beyond the materials and documents already publicly released by the FCIC and appearing on the FCIC’s website at fcic.law.stanford.edu.
The intent of the FCIC’s action was, in the public interest, to release all documents and materials received or created by the FCIC during the course of its investigation into the causes of the financial crisis, subject only to specific restrictions that might be applicable such as personal privacy information; confidential supervisory or regulatory information which remains sensitive at the time of release; proprietary business information which remains confidential or contains trade secrets at the time of release, including information which the FCIC agreed not to disclose for a period of longer than five years; or a specific legal prohibition on disclosure.
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Phil Angelides 