Egan-Jones may have been barred from rating sovereigns for 18 months due to missing a comma here or there in its NRSRO application (when everyone knows this was merely retribution for downgrading the US ahead of all the other rating agencies), but now the time has come for that other rating agency which dared to follow in EJ's footsteps and downgrade the US of AmericaAA+ in August 2011 to be punished: Standard & Poors. Moments ago we learned that federal and state prosecutors will five civil charges against S&P for its mortgage bond ratings during the housing crisis.

U.S. AND STATE PROSECUTORS PLAN TO FILE CIVIL CHARGES ALLEGING WRONGDOING BY S&P'S RATINGS SERVICES IN ITS RATING OF MORTGAGE BONDS BEFORE THE FINANCIAL CRISIS.

Certainly if S&P is being targeted so will be the Octogenarian of Omaha's pet rating company, Moody's as well, not to mention French Fitch. Or maybe not: after all these were the two raters who sternly refused to downgrade the US when the country boldly penetrated the 100% debt/GDP target barrier, and which at last check has some 105% in debt/GDP with no actual plan of trimming spending. As in ever.

And in these here united banana states, it is only reasonable to expect that such crony, corrupt behavior is not only not punished but solidly rewarded.

From the WSJ: