Before a packed audience, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard arguments Monday on whether the conservator for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae waited too long to launch its megabillions litigation campaign against banks that marketed toxic residential mortgage-backed securities.

David Becker, the former SEC general counsel and current partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, has come under fire for not recusing himself from Madoff investor decisions when he was at the SEC. But there's a bigger problem highlighted by the SEC Inspector General's report.