According to the article below, administration officials sought to use national security protections to withhold the details of the details of the American International Group bailout. It is only the latest example of how the government uses such protections to conceal information to avoid embarrassment or public review.
The New York Federal Reserve reportedly asked to keep the details secret and received assurances from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that “special security procedures” would be used to handle the document. The SEC allegedly sent an email to a New York Fed lawyer saying that the details would be kept from most SEC staff and stored “in a special area where national security related files are kept.” Nothing like transparency in government.
For the full story, click here.
This corruption will end. The question is “How will it end?” Let us pray it ends peacefully, under the rule of law, with the criminals being held responsible for their actions. I fear the alternative.
Obama Received a $101,332 Bonus from AIG
Senator Barack Obama received a $101,332 bonus from American International Group in the form of political contributions according to Opensecrets.org. The two biggest Congressional recipients of bonuses from the A.I.G. are – Senators Chris Dodd and Senator Barack Obama.
The A.I.G. Financial Products affiliate of A.I.G. gave out $136,928, the most of any AIG affiliate, in the 2008 cycle. I would note that A.I.G.’s financial products division is the unit that wrote trillions of dollars’ worth of credit-default swaps and “misjudged” the risk.
The Washington Post reports a “mob effect” at A.I.G financial products division:
A tidal wave of public outrage over bonus payments swamped American International Group yesterday. Hired guards stood watch outside the suburban Connecticut offices of AIG Financial Products, the division whose exotic derivatives brought the insurance giant to the brink of collapse last year. Inside, death threats and angry letters flooded e-mail inboxes. Irate callers lit up the phone lines. Senior managers submitted their resignations. Some employees didn’t show up at all.
http://www.examiner.com/x-268-Right-Side-Politics-Examiner~y2009m3d17-Obama-Received-a-101332-Bonus-from-AIG
“… and Geithner, who led the New York Fed at the time of the AIG bailout, has said he was not privy to the discussions about what information AIG should or should not release to the public and the SEC.”
Another leader who didn’t know what was going on … what kind of leadership is that? I guess when the choice one has is piss-poor leader or piss poor crook, one chooses ….
What I’d like to see happen, and yeah, I know it’s a pipe dream, is that some real investigations would happen and some prosecutions would come down.
Sounds like it is money, enough to keep it secret to me. NOT
Elliot Spitzer was on to these AIG people years before they crashed but they made sure he was not able to pursue them.
The links on my old posts have been scrubbed, but I have gone back and tried to re-link them.
I followed the AIG money to the most ungodly places on earth.
There is little wonder why they are feverishly covering up.
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2010/01/banker-jekyll-will-hyde-your-money-5.html