Some banksters should be jailed, and would be if they were fairly prosecuted. But it seems that nearly all 50 states Attorneys General are about to waive their right to pursue criminal investigations of these banksters.

All 50 Attorneys General across the nation have until today to decide if they're going to sign on to a settlement with the nation's biggest banks to let banksters off the criminal hook for widespread fraud committed on Wall Street during the financial crisis. The settlement - which is against the biggest of the big banks like JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo - is worth $25 billion - which is chump change compared to the real damage they've done to the American middle class - where over $7 trillion in wealth has vanished.

By agreeing to the settlement, Attorneys General will waive their right to pursue further criminal investigations on Wall Street - meaning no banksters will see a jail cell. George Goehl, the executive director of National People's Action, slammed the deal saying, "People are very disappointed in ... this ...We're giving away the store."

While most states want to take the settlement - California is still holding out and reserving the right to launch its own investigations. And in New York, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed suit last week against JP Morgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo over improper foreclosure practices. "We the people" need to make sure any deal that doesn't include jail time for Wall Street's criminals and doesn't force the banks to refinance the exploding mortgages they bilked customers into buying - is rejected outright.

-- Thom Hartmann's emailed newsletter