0 nudge it off force, or you can go out there and just set it off, hoping that you're not going to screw it up and create a shower of these things which could be even worse. but we are the first generation of humans that can do something about it. so yes, a very scary day, but in a sense, an exciting day. and so right away, congressman lamar smith, from texas, a conservative said let's convene an asteroid meeting, we're all in. let's figure out what to do. >> i would like the asteroid meeting, i'm excited about the floating sun >> you can read more of my work at wonkblog.com. the "ed show" is up next. good evening, americans, and welcome to "the ed show" from new york. meteors crashing into earth. congress goes on vacation again? and elizabeth warren is the new sheriff in town. all that and rachel maddow joins us tonight. buckle up. supervisory goals. >> and senator warren wasn't done making her point. >> we look at the distinction between what we could get if we go the trial and what we could get if we don't. >> i appreciate that. that's what everybody does. so the question i'm really asking is can you identify when you last took the wall street banks to trial? >> um, i will have to get back to you with the specific information. >> i think they all need water on that panel. what do you think? the government has acted cowardly when it comes to the big banks, no doubt about it. deals are cut and civil cases get settled out of court. the banks don't have to change any of their behavior. you and i get stuck, or could get stuck. warren wants to stop this entire cycle, and the banks aren't real happy about it. politico received a number of anonymous comments from banking executives slamming the senator from massachusetts. they called her questions shameless grandstanding. she should act accordingly if she wants to be taken seriously. one said warren is an extreme fringe freshman senator. you see, folks, these fat cats, they are running scared. it's a far cry from what senator dick durbin said back in 2009 on "the ed show." >> you believe the banks own the senate and you can't get this done? >> i will tell you that at this point in time, it's an uphill battle for me to get 60 votes in the senate. >> senators like elizabeth warren make it a lot easier for dick durbin to get the momentum he needs to stop this behavior. this is what the 012 election was all about, wasn't it? now compare senator warren with her most -- with the most talked about counterpart on the other side of the aisle and what he is working on. >> it may be that he spoke at radical or extreme groups or anti-israel groups and accepted financial compensation. we don't know. >> oh, yeah, senator ted cruz of texas. he is too busy playing joe mccarthy these days. elizabeth warren is fighting for the people who were screwed by the rich bankers. now, which one do you want on your side? and this is how we have to think, liberals. just think what it would be like if we had 60 senators like elizabeth warren. that's what this election was all about. it's a marathon. it's not a sprint. we have more elections coming up, no doubt about it. but the behavior of the republicans right now, and what they're focused on is not the folks who got the shaft back when the market crashed. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question. will senator warren get congress to hold the big banks accountable for the financial crisis? text "a" for yes, "b" for no to 67622. you can always go to our blog and leave a comment at ed.msnbc.com. of course we'll bring results later on in the show. i am joined tonight by martin smith, producer for "frontline." and david cay johnston also with us, a pulitzer prize winning journalist. gentlemen, great to have you with us tonight. martin, you first. you covered this story for "frontline." is there any chance that a senator that aggressive, continually asking questions and keeping it in the media could make a difference? >> well, it's better than no senators asking those questions. there is a possibility. but this is a conversation that has been in the background for some years now. this is a conversation that it's long overdue that somebody put very simple questions to the regulators. you know, she did not tell them what they should be doing. she asked a very remarkably simple question. tell me about the last time you took a wall street bank to a trial. and they were incredibly flat-footed. in the past, there have been some efforts. but in the early days after 2009, 2010, there was the sense that, you know, the justice department is working on this and it's going to take time. but nothing happened. >> david, do these out-of-court settlements and penalties have actually, in july, the s.e.c., she was commissioner at the s.e.c., had taken a banker to court on a civil case. it was thrown out. he was mid-level. the jury says we don't want these mid-level guys. on a remarkable note, they said it should be executives who are being held to account. it was remarkable that she couldn't even come up with the one trial that they had gone forward with. >> your thoughts, david cay, on the justice department. have they done their job? >> no, absolutely not. you know, last year, bill black, the regulator who was responsible for a thousand felony convictions of high-level people in the s&l crisis was supposed to testify in congress. he came to washington, and the morning of the testimony they said they didn't want to hear him. the importance of elizabeth warren is she is going to be in a position to ask the questions that haven't been asked. as martin said, simple questions. >> here is senator warren as she explained the impact of bringing cases to trial during the hearing. >> there are district attorneys and u.s. attorneys who are out there every day squeezing ordinary citizens on sometimes very thin grounds and taking them to trial in order to make an example, as they put it. >> martin, why is the government afraid of going to trial against the banks? she points out they're too big to go on trial. that's pretty much it, isn't it? >> that's absolutely what it seems to be. we asked. i asked lanny breuer, chief of the criminal division at the justice department about some comments he made about deferred prosecution agreements that he said that he had lost sleep at night, worried about the consequences, the collateral damage that would result from charging a bank with criminal fraud. so, you know, if there is -- if we need an admission that these banks are too big to fail and too big to jail, that was it. >> what impact in dollars could actual regulation have on the banks? i mean, they're going to make a profit. they have always made a profit. but this is the greedy fast lane. what impact could it have? regulation that could turn it around? >> the important issue, ed, we have artificially depressed interest rates to prop up these banks. the bankers today were telling politico and the "new york times" deal book, oh, we're perfectly robust and healthy there is nothing wrong with our books. yeah, because you're getting a massive subsidy from the federal government that is effectively transferring money from savers to prop up these banks. that's the real impact to our economy. that's why pension funds are in trouble. it's a real fundamental problem here. >> but we can put on the table both you experts. we've got a senator from massachusetts who is, should we say, unspoiled and ready to do the work of the people on the banking committee. fair enough? >> absolutely. >> absolutely. >> it's going to be fun. martin smith, david cay johnston, great to have you with us tonight. remember to answer tonight's question there at the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts with us on twitter and at ed show on facebook. we want to know what you think. ten years ago, the bush administration lied us into a war. rachel maddow and david corn are here to preview their new special that will make you really look at this story in a whole new different way. stay with us. is, yes she is. 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