Five years after Wall Street nearly melted down, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has failed to nab a single executive responsible for the financial crisis. Somehow, though, budget cuts stemming from sequestration are going to jeopardize the FBI’s lack of productivity in bringing people to justice.

Like other federal agencies, the FBI has warned lawmakers in Congress that sequestration is really going to harm their operations, specifically their pursuit of financial crimes.

Sequestration “will cause current financial crimes investigations to slow as workload is spread among a reduced workforce. In some instances, such delays could affect the timely interviews of witnesses and collection of evidence,” the FBI wrote to members of Congress recently.

This argument has provoked derisive responses from some observers who find it appalling the FBI could blame draconian budget cuts that have yet to really kick in for the agency’s failure to indict Wall Street leaders.

Former Congressman Brad Miller (D-North Carolina) told the Huffington Post, “Are they worried that because of sequestration the FBI will interview critical witnesses three years after the statute of limitations has expired instead of just one year? Financial fraud investigations were already under a ‘do not resuscitate’ order and unresponsive to deep stimulation. It’s hard for me to worry that DOJ will now be less ‘aggressive.’”

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Tragedy or Farce? FBI Claims Sequester Will Harm Their Wall Street Investigations (by Jacob Chamberlain, Common Dreams)

FBI Warns Sequestration Will Hamper All Their Hard-Hitting Wall Street Investigations (by Ryan Grim, Huffington Post)

Justice Dept. Mistakes Slapping Wall Street Wrists for True Punishment for Fraud (by Matt Bewig, AllGov)

Occupy Wall Street Was Target of FBI Counterterrorism Operation (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

Justice Dept. Defends Not Prosecuting Corporate Leaders for White-Collar Crime (by Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinsky, AllGov)

Why No Prison for Banksters Who Caused Financial Crisis…Yet? (by David Wallechinsky and Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)