Winner of the 2018 Excellence in Financial Journalism Award
From Pulitzer Prizeâwinning journalist Jesse Eisinger, âa fast moving, fly-on-the-wall, disheartening look at the deterioration of the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange CommissionâŚIt is a book of superheroesâ (San Francisco Review of Books).
Why were no bankers put in prison after the financial crisis of 2008? Why do CEOs seem to commit wrongdoing with impunity? The problem goes beyond banks deemed âToo Big to Failâ to almost every large corporation in Americaâto pharmaceutical companies and auto manufacturers and beyond. The Chickenshit Clubâan inside reference to prosecutors too scared of failure and too daunted by legal impediments to do their jobsâexplains why in âan absorbing financial history, a monumental work of journalismâŚa first-rate study of the federal bureaucracyâ (Bloomberg Businessweek).
Jesse Eisinger begins the story in the 1970s, when the government pioneered the notion that top corporate executives, not just seedy crooks, could commit heinous crimes and go to prison. He brings us to trading desks on Wall Street, to corporate boardrooms and the offices of prosecutors and FBI agents. These revealing looks provide context for the evolution of the Justice Departmentâs approach to pursuing corporate criminals through the early 2000s and into the Justice Department of today, including the prosecutorial fiascos, corporate lobbying, trial losses, and culture shifts that have stripped the government of the will and ability to prosecute top corporate executives.
âBrave and elegantâŚa fearless reporterâŚEisingerâs important and profound book takes no prisonersâ (The Washington Post). Exposing one of the most important scandals of our time, The Chickenshit Club provides a clear, detailed explanation as to how our Justice Department has come to avoid, bungle, and mismanage the fight to bring these alleged criminals to justice. âThis book is a wakeup callâŚa chilling read, and a needed oneâ (NPR.org).