Justice Department finds 'no viable basis' to prosecute Goldman for its activities involving sub-prime RMBS

CNN reports that despite a Senate inquiry recommending legal action against Goldman for its sub-prime RMBS activities, the Justice Department has decided to take no action.

The Justice Department says after a "careful review" it has determined there is no basis for bringing a criminal prosecution against Goldman Sachs or its employees in regard to allegations set forth in a congressional report.

This is not a surprising conclusion as the Justice Department has consistently managed to minimize the number of individuals or companies prosecuted in connection with the financial crisis.

In an unsigned statement from the Justice Department issued Thursday night, it said the department conducted an exhaustive review for more than a year examining allegations in the Levine-Coburn Report. 

Headed by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, the 635-page report in 2011 singled out Goldman and Deutsche Bank as examples of Wall Street firms that reaped huge profits by marketing securities backed by subprime mortgages as safe investments to clients, even as the banks bet against these very same securities. 

"In my judgment, Goldman clearly misled their clients and they misled Congress," Levin told reporters on a conference call in April 2011. The Senate subcommittee, which spent two years on the investigation, based its report on thousands of internal company documents and e-mails, as well as hundreds of interviews and congressional testimony....

So the firm that paid $550 million for its role in the Abacus deal and sold other deals like Timberwolf walks away...

Goldman Sachs spokesman David Wells said in a statement, "We are pleased that this matter is behind us."

No kidding.