Don't shoot this messenger, shoot that messenger

So who's to blame for the run on IndyMac Bancorp?

According to the head of the Office of Thrift Supervision, Sen. Chuck Schumer's at fault. Here's what the Wall Street Journal reported on July 12:

The director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, John Reich, blamed IndyMac's failure on comments made in late June by Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.), who sent a letter to the regulator raising concerns about the bank's solvency. In the following 11 days, spooked depositors withdrew a total of $1.3 billion. Mr. Reich said Sen. Schumer gave the bank a "heart attack."

On Monday, Schumer fired back, telling the WSJ:

"Clearly what was happened here was the OTS, having the second-biggest bank failure on their watch, sought to blame the messenger. In sum, it's sort of classically what this administration does. Blame the fire on the guy who called 911."

Having exonerated the messenger, Schumer pointed to a different culprit:

A June 28 story in IndyMac's hometown newspaper, the Pasadena Star-News, had a "very inflammatory headline," Sen. Schumer said. It read: "IndyMac appears close to collapse."

(To be fair, Schumer also said this: "I regret that depositors and investors lost money. But the blame falls with, first, IndyMac and, second, OTS.")

Read PSN Public Editor Larry Wilson's take here.