House Dems press for criminal investigation of Goldman Sachs

House Democrats are pressing the Justice Department for a full criminal investigation into the actions of Goldman Sachs after a federal regulator levied civil fraud charges against the firm late last week. 

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) is rallying House Democrats to sign on to a letter she sent this week to Attorney General Eric Holder asking for "assurance from you that the U.S. Department of Justice is closely looking at this case and similar cases to further investigate and prosecute the criminals involved in this , and other financially fraudulent acts," the letter said. 

Several other Democrats have signed on to the effort including Reps. Chris Carney (D-Pa.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Bob Filner (D-Calif.), Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Michael Honda (D-Calif.), Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), John Lewis (D-Ga.), David Loebsack (D-La.), Betsy Markey (D-Colo.), Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), Charlie Melancon (D-La.), Tom Perriello (D-Va.), John Salazar (D-Colo.), Pete Stark (D-Calif.), Betty Sutton (D-Ohio), Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.), and Diane Watson (D-Calif.), according to Kaptur's staff. The letter is open to sign until 2 p.m. Thursday. 

Kaptur's letter notes a bill she introduced that authorizes the Justice Department to hire more prosecutors, the FBI to hire more agents and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed the civil suit against Goldman Sachs, to hire more investigators. 

"Part of financial regulatory reform should include removing the criminals and crafting a system that supports those who follow the law," the letter said.