Democrat Jon Corzine of New Jersey has earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first former U.S. senator to testify in a Senate investigation, thanks to the scandal that has rocked the investment firm MF Global.
The
Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry subpoenaed Corzine, a former CEO of Goldman Sachs, to see what the firm’s former chairman knows about the $1.2 billion in customer money that disappeared. But during his testimony on Tuesday he claimed that it was a mystery to him as well.
“It’s the first time, I think, in history where a former senator has been subpoenaed to testify before his former colleagues,” Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) told Fox Business News.
The Senate historian’s office confirmed Roberts’ assertion, telling the New Jersey Star-Ledger that former senators have been forced to testify before a House committee, but not in the Senate. Even then, Corzine was the first ex-senator to testify before any Congressional committee since 1908.
-Noel Brinkerhoff