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The Shelby Shuffle Continues

Location: Blogs Mark Faulk's Blog    
Posted by:   mfaulk 6/27/2006 6:36 PM
Yesterday, Senator Richard Shelby played dumb on the topic of naked short selling when he claimed on national television that “I’ve never had anyone talk to me and tell me that's fraud” in response to a question from CNBC’s Joe Kernan. Then he played dumber a few hours later when he said through a spokesperson that he “didn’t hear the ‘naked’ part of the question," implying that he thought he was responding to a question about legal short selling, which makes his answer, well....the dumbest.

Immediately, emails and letters began to surface that various people sent to Senator Shelby laying out in detail the illegality of naked short selling. Is it possible that Shelby just hasn’t seen anything that has been sent to him, that he has been isolated from reality by his staff, insulated from the truth by those surrounding him?

Not likely.

Here’s another email that discusses naked short selling in detail, only this time it’s an email from Senator Shelby to an Alabama constituent, in response to questions and concerns about the fraudulent practice of naked shorting.

Note to Senator Shelby: Before you go on national television and claim that no one has ever talked to you and told you that naked shorting is fraud, be certain that there isn’t a trail of evidence behind you. You can’t play politics with lives forever and not expect to reap the consequences of your actions.

So Senator, this one’s for you, in your own words:

April 7, 2005
Mr. ***** * *******
976 ******** Rd
Pelham, Alabama 35124

Dear Mr. ***** *******:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding your concerns with naked short selling. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts on this matter.

As Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, I will continue to work towards restoring investor confidence and the credibility of our capital markets and will be aggressive in oversight work to ensure existing legislation is working as it was intended. Securities regulators are currently conducting investigations and examining the issue of naked short selling. Please be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind during the 109th Congress as I continue to work with the National Association of Securities Dealers and the Securities and Exchange Commission to ensure the integrity of our capital markets. Thank you again for your correspondence. If I may ever be of any future assistance, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Sincerely,
Richard Shelby
RCS:jrs

(P.S. I emailed about ten different people at CNBC today, including Joe Kernan, letting them know that Shelby’s aide had retracted his statement about naked short selling to me, and asking if anyone from his office has issued an official retraction to CNBC. Since I’ve gotten no response from anyone at CNBC, I can only assume that he didn’t issue an “official” retraction, letting his comments that naked short selling has “been going on a long time” and that “I’ve never had anyone talk to me and tell me that's fraud” stand as spoken. As always, I’ll let everyone know if I hear otherwise.)
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Comments (9)
Re: The Shelby Shuffle Continues By clearthinker on 6/27/2006 7:04 PM
C an
N ot
B e
C ounted on
Re: The Shelby Shuffle Continues By Bartock on 6/27/2006 7:21 PM
Naked shorting. It was naked shorting. Kernan repeated it - so he had to miss it twice.

What do you do when the cops are caught smoking crack on film, and the next day their defense is that nobody had ever told them it was illegal?
Re: The Shelby Shuffle Continues By old duffer on 6/27/2006 7:35 PM
Maybe some Democrat could use this stuff to make him squirm...

Nah, they all play the same 'play-dumb game' earning their dirty Wall Streen pay offs.
Re: The Shelby Shuffle Continues By Mark Faulk on 6/27/2006 7:51 PM
I have a feeling if Shelby was up for re-election, he'd be singing a different tune. Of course, then they always just posture and make a big public display of of pretending to to do something, and mock their constituents after the cameras are turned off. Unfortunately for Shelby, he did it while the camereas were rolling.
Re: The Shelby Shuffle Continues By allamerican on 6/27/2006 8:16 PM
the NYSE has stepped up enforcement lately, the states are moving forward, and the citizens are taking matters into their own hands. It looks like the only ones who aren't doing anything about naked short selling are the ones whose job it is. Shelby should be brought up on charges. He's directly responsible for destroying lives just to further his own political career and line his pockets with funny money.
Re: The Shelby Shuffle Continues By rtway1 on 6/28/2006 10:10 AM
I wouldn,t put a lot of faith on Kernan either Mark. He is a staunch Wall St. allie and a former broker. He would cover for Shelby IMO.
Re: The Shelby Shuffle Continues By mhatmccane on 6/29/2006 9:42 AM
Thank you for sharing the proof that Shelby's out of touch with reality. He appears to be confusing politics with the stock market - in politics it is expected that someone will take your money and your vote and then not deliver - done all the time.
Re: The Shelby Shuffle Continues By hwh on 6/29/2006 5:26 PM
Granpa's advice:

Tell the truth the first time & you don't have to remember your story...hwh
Re: The Shelby Shuffle Continues By Don eylat on 7/7/2006 7:14 AM
As long as theadmiistration is ownedbya groupof neo-fascist criminals who protecttheirbig political donors, reap billionsin plain bribes justiceandthelawwill continuetobetrampled on as if Mussolini werein charge. we simplyhave toreplace these thieveswith less experienced ones

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