Ratigan remembers Pittman

Former Bloomberg reporter Dylan Ratigan praised the work of former Bloomberg reporter Mark Pittman, who died last week, on his MSNBC show Monday.

Ratigan stated, “I want to take a minute to salute a former colleague of mine and a reporter who had the guts not only to take on the Federal Reserve, but to take on the entire banking system. Mark Pittman passed away last week in New York at the too young age of 52.

“Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz called Pittman one of the great financial journalists of our time. He did a tremendous job explaining and laying out the layering of subprime. But Pittman’s final legacy is yet to be written.

“Just three months ago, Pittman and Bloomberg News won a key legal victory in the efforts to get the Fed to open its books to the public so we can see the back door bailouts that they are providing to American banks.

“But, unfortunately, Pittman did not live to see the end of the battle he started. The Federal Reserve appealing a decision that went in Pittman’s favor. Bloomberg’s response to the Fed appeal due next week. A hearing expected the first week in January.

“So from all of us at the Morning Meeting, we want to take a minute to pay our respects to a man who led the charge, trying to use the freedom of the press to fight for the American principles of fairness and punishing those who would cheat them.

“We would be all better off if there were more reporters like Mark Pittman looking out for America’s interests against those in our government and banking system that would seek to exploit the taxpayer for their personal enrichment.”