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Thanks for posting that Jim Cramer/Steel episode.

I had forgotten about that, but I had watched those programs and distinctly remember Cramer was humiliated. Stunned, in fact, that he had been so taken. Cramer is at least smart enough to listen for all the fudge words, and He trusted Steel to convey an accurate picture (or, at the very least, not to break the law).

My post 137:

In January 2009, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating claims Steel made about the future of the bank before it started talks about a potential merger.

AND, from your post,

On September 29, 2008, during a segment of Mad Money on CNBC, Jim Cramer discussed the Wachovia call he made on September 15, 2008[44][45]. Wachovia CEO Bob Steel told Mad Money viewers that out of $500 billion in loans on the bank’s books, only $10 billion were bad. Just two weeks later, Citigroup bought Wachovia for a highly discounted price, because the actual total was $42 billion, and the FDIC was about to seize Wachovia.

“On March 9, 2009, on Mad Money,[51]... Cramer mentioned, “Look, I was taken in, the guy pantsed me. I made a mistake. The SEC is investigating Steel’s appearance on the show for truthfulness, though. I made a mistake, but they’re investigating him to see if he lied. Bigger issue. Sometimes you just get had.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So....the investigation on Steel didn’t begin til Jan 2009. What happened to that investigation?

Like I said, Steel has a canny ability to skirt trouble and keep a squeaky clean “image.”

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Robert_Steel#Wachovia.2C_Wells_Fargo.2C_and_the_Taxpayer-Funded_.22Stealth.22_Bailout

Wachovia, Wells Fargo, and the Taxpayer-Funded “Stealth” Bailout

Steel departed from Treasury just before the Wall Street meltdown, then took the helm at Wachovia. As Wachovia was failing, “the FDIC wanted to put the company through receivership—shutting it down and wiping out its shareholders. But Steel’s buddies at Treasury and the Fed intervened, and instead of closing Wachovia, they arranged a merger with Wells Fargo at $7 a share—saving Steel himself $7 million.”[1] Wells Fargo accepted $25 Billion in taxpayer-funded TARP bailout dollars, and Steel sat on Wells Fargo’s board until July 2010.

CBS Evening News on Wachovia’s “Stealth” Bailout

In February 2009, CBS Evening News made the following report:[5]

Troubled Wachovia has been bought out by Wells Fargo for $12.7 billion, creating the nation’s second-largest bank in terms of deposits. But it might not have happened without the generous support of the federal government and your tax dollars.

Here’s how. Last fall, in the span of just six days, Wells Fargo flip-flopped: first rejecting then accepting a deal to buy Wachovia.

What changed so drastically in less than a week? Two things.

First, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson quietly issued a document revising the tax code, giving enormous benefits to some banks that buy other banks. For Wells Fargo, it could be worth up to $25 billion.

Then, Congress passed the giant bailout that would provide $25 billion in direct funds to Wells Fargo.

The very same day the bailout passed, Wells Fargo announced the surprise turnaround to investors: It would buy Wachovia after all.

On a call, Richard Kovacevich, the chairman of Wells Fargo, said: “This is of course a very exciting moment in the long history of Wachovia and Wells Fargo.”

Wells Fargo became one of nine banks to receive bailout money and quickly close deals with other banks. The takeovers are so politically dicey that a Wells Fargo executive assured Congress his company did not use bailout funds to buy Wachovia.

“We completed our own capital raise to assure that we have the appropriate levels of capital to complete that transaction,” said Jon Campbell, the CEO of the Minnesota region of Wells Fargo bank.

But nobody from Wells Fargo would explain how that squares with their press release from two weeks earlier. It says money raised by issuing stock and “the capital investment from the government” - that’s the taxpayer bailout - “will enable us to finance the Wachovia acquisition.”