“The decision by the Department of Justice not to pursue charges against Goldman Sachs for actions leading up to the financial crisis does not make the behavior any less “deceptive and immoral,” according to a top Senate Democrat.

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) was the lead author of a Senate investigatory report that laid heavy blame at the feet of Goldman Sachs for its actions before the financial meltdown. On Friday, he issued a lengthy statement in response to the government’s decision not to mount charges against the bank or its employees based on the findings of that 2011 document. He made clear he did not find the Justice Department’s decision in any way proof of innocence for the banking giant.

“Its actions did immense harm to its clients, and helped create the financial crisis that nearly plunged us into a second Great Depression,” he said. “

Proponents of tough Wall Street regulation were more direct in their criticism. The Wall Street reform group Better Markets said the decision to not pursue charges was “an abdication of responsibility and a disservice to the American people.”

“The ongoing failure to enforce the law against the rich, powerful and well-connected of Wall Street only rewards and incentivizes more crime, which is why there are and will continue to be more scandals,” said Dennis Kelleher, the group’s president and CEO. “Much worse, however, is that this ongoing double standard erodes the belief in the American justice and political systems, which threaten the very foundation of our democracy.” 

Read Pete Schroeder’s full The Hill article here