---

Tarp inspector threatens subpoena
...“Unfortunately, several decisions by Treasury – including Treasury’s refusal to require Tarp recipients to report on their use of Tarp funds, its less-than-accurate statements concerning Tarp’s first investments in nine large financial institutions, and its initial defence of those inaccurate statements – have served only to damage the government’s credibility and thus the long-term effectiveness of Tarp,” says the special inspector general’s quarterly report to Congress due to be published later on Wednesday.

Mr Barofsky has his critics in Congress and the administration, who claim that the reports are sometimes light on substance.

His threat to use legal powers to seize documents relates to the public-private investment partnership, the scheme whereby Treasury and Federal Reserve debt and equity is used alongside an investment by private companies to encourage the sale of toxic assets from banks’ balance sheets....