Senators accuse Goldman Sachs of lying

A US Senate panel has slammed investment bankers Goldman Sachs this week, saying that the Wall Street financial firm has deceived clients and manipulated markets.

A 639-page report published by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation pulls from tens of millions of documents reviewed over the course of two years which, according to the panel’s chairman Carl Levin, clearly shows that Goldman misled both their clients and Congress.Levin has accused the firm of profiting at the expense of their clients during the mortgage market crash of 2007. A government-appointed investigation led by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission examined alleged injustices from the firm earlier this year, but Republican Senator Tom Coburn reported that the inquiry proved fruitless.Levin, however, feels as though his panel has stumbled upon something worthwhile this time around. "We will be referring this matter to the Justice Department and to the SEC," Levin said during a press briefing on his report Wednesday.Senator Coburn is once again participating in this rally against Goldman, serving as the top Republican on Levin’s subcommittee. At a bipartisan brief on Wednesday, Coburn remarked, "Blame for this mess lies everywhere—from federal regulators who cast a blind eye, Wall Street bankers who let greed run wild, and members of Congress who failed to provide oversight.”"It shows without a doubt the lack of ethics in some of our financial institutions who embraced known conflicts of interest to accomplish wealth for themselves, not caring about the outcome for their customers," he said.According to Reuters, a spokesperson for Goldman Sachs has responded to the paper saying that, "While we disagree with many of the conclusions of the report, we take seriously the issues explored by the subcommittee."