And let me note that the staffer, Peter Roberson, deserves it.<\/p>\n
Basically, this guy took lead on writing regulations on derivatives, and then he started shopping himself to hedge funds, and this Really pissed off Barney Frank<\/a>:<\/p>\n But in late January, after learning that Roberson was interviewing for a position with ICE, Frank asked him to leave his post, removed him from the payroll, de-activated his email account and took his Blackberry, keys and identification credentials, according to both Frank and Frank\u2019s spokesman.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And if that weren’t enough:<\/p>\n Frank said there is a rule which bans staffers who leave for industry positions from interacting with committee members for one year, but he doesn\u2019t think this rule goes far enough.<\/p>\n Frank said Thursday he has instructed staff \u201cto have no contact whatsoever with Mr. Roberson on any matters involving financial regulation for as long as I am in charge of that committee staff<\/span>.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n (emphasis mine<\/span>)<\/p>\n I will note that Frank did this a year ago with another former aid<\/a>, where he forbade contact with Goldman Sachs lobbyist, and former committee staffer, Michael Paese, from contacting the committee while they were working on reform legislation, but that was only while the bill was being drawn up.<\/p>\n I am not sure if this has happened because Roberson’s behavior was particularly egregious, or if it was because the bleeding in staff was becoming excessive, but this is a much needed shot across the bow of the revolving door in the US Congress.<\/p>\n In either case, it’s pretty clear that Roberson is now radioactive, and that his market value as a peddler of access has been much diminished.<\/p>\n Frank’s official statement after break:
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