Watch CBS News

Grassley Calls for More Firings After SEC Porn Charges

The people who are supposed to be watching Wall Street apparently have been watching something else - porn. Securities and Exchange Commission Inspector General David Kotz found

"If people want to do unethical and, in my opinion immoral, things... They ought to do it on their time, and not the taxpayer's time," Grassley said.

The inspector general's probe began in 2007 and continued through the financial meltdown on Wall Street and beyond. The investigation found SEC employees at all levels, including senior ranking officials, with hard drives and Google searches brimming with pornographic images and material.

"It is clear supervisors aren't supervising," said Grassley, "But in this case it sounds lie some of the people doing it are supervisors!"

According to a memo generated by the SEC and leaked to the press yesterday, one senior attorney at the SEC's headquarters in Washington spent up to 8 hours a day viewing and downloading porn, until his computer hard drive ran out of space. At that point, the attorney began burning CDs and DVDs with pornographic material and keeping the discs around his office. Seventeen of the employees investigated were at the senior level, earning annual salaries in the six-figure range. Grassley said that while the SEC claims the offenders have been disciplined, only a few have been fired.

"A problem like this will only really get corrected when heads roll," said Grassley.

Grassley said there was a need for more transparency from the agency, and called for the names of the offending employees to be made public, saying taxpayer's had a right to know.

Also on "Unplugged" Friday, CBS News Congressional Correspondent Nancy Cordes reports on the latest developments regarding the financial reform bill in the Senate and an "Unplugged Under 40" segment from Kaylee Hartung on a former White House aide with hip-hip aspirations. You can watch the whole show above.

"Washington Unplugged," CBSNews.com's exclusive daily politics Webshow, appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.
View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.