Today marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
We commemorate this day through International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Today, we remember the six million Jewish victims, as well as the millions of other victims persecuted by the Nazis. We do this so that it is never repeated.
I honor the victims, the survivors and their families by combatting antisemitism and preserving history for future generations.
In 2023, the Simon Wiesenthal Center approached me about wrongdoing by the Swiss bank named Credit Suisse in its internal investigation into the undisclosed information related to the bank’s Nazi ties.
For decades, we’ve tried to track the Nazi’s confiscation of all kinds of Jewish valuables and cash, and we all know the Nazis used Swiss banks to hide whatever was confiscated.
I went to Senator Whitehouse, [then-]Chairman of the Budget Committee. He and I issued the Budget Committee’s first subpoena since 1991 to obtain a report that was developed by the investigation’s Independent Ombudsperson, Mr. Neil Barofsky.
The report confirmed allegations and shed light on the breadth of Credit Suisse’s servicing of Nazi wealth during and after World War II, along with their efforts to keep that wealth hidden.
So, it’s very clear Credit Suisse’s past leadership handled this matter terribly.
They lied to Congress while smearing the reputations of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and also the reputation of Mr. Barofsky.
The bank even fired Mr. Barofsky, which is why we had to subpoena his report.
Since then, Credit Suisse as a bank collapsed and was merged, and Mr. Barofsky has been rehired after our pressure.
Now, the bank, UBS, owns the results of this inquiry and it also owns Credit Suisse’s past of mishandling this whole event.
Earlier this month, Senator Whitehouse and I released updates from this investigation.
Shortly after, there were negative press leaks [from] UBS and, possibly, past disgruntled employees.
The leaks contained lies about the work and attacked Mr. Barofsky’s character.
These attacks serve no purpose other than to frustrate an investigation into Credit Suisse’s Nazi past.
That absurd conduct is, in fact, a spit in the face to the victims of the Holocaust.
This United States Congress won’t tolerate, and shouldn’t tolerate, that kind of evil here in the 21st century.
And neither will those brave souls long past that lived through the Nazi evil.
They stand guard as our spiritual strength.
So, let this be a message to the bank obstructionists, that this Senator, as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I’ll leave no stone unturned when it comes to Nazi evils, and neither will Senator Whitehouse.
-30-