Paulson Asked to Testify at AIG Bailout Hearing With Geithner

[sabrina 1]

Source: Bloomberg

Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has been asked to join his successor Timothy Geithner in testifying before a House panel examining bailout payments to American International Group Inc.’s trading partners.

Paulson was invited to a Jan. 27 hearing set by Edolphus Towns, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, about the decision to fully reimburse AIG’s bank counterparties for $62.1 billion in derivatives. Stephen Friedman, the former Federal Reserve Bank of New York chairman who serves on the board of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., was also asked to appear, Towns said in a statement yesterday.

“Chairman Towns is well aware of the fact that President Bush’s Treasury secretary orchestrated this bailout,” Jenny Rosenberg, a spokeswoman for the New York Democrat, said in an e-mail explaining why Paulson was invited.

The request widens the probe into what lawmakers have called a “backdoor bailout” of banks that benefited from the $182.3 billion U.S. rescue of AIG. Geithner, who ran the New York Fed when AIG was saved in 2008, agreed to testify before the committee after Darrell Issa, a California Republican, released e-mails last week showing that the New York Fed asked AIG to withhold data about bank payments.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4kpRjxnjM4I&pos=4

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Paulson was known at Goldman Sachs as 'Mr. Risk'. He has said he had nothing to do with this decision.

[waronbanks]

1. He was "invited"

Wonder if that requires an RSVP?

[sabrina 1]

2. King Henry (Paulson)

They do treat him like a king and he certainly acted like one when he demanded the bail-out money and also demanded that there be no oversight of how it was distributed. That was the most outrageous thing I ever saw. And Congress just said 'yes'. Well, mostly Democrats in Congress said 'yes'.

Even though the people said 'no' Congress still went ahead and gave him the money. I know Miller from Ca. said they were threatened, by Henry, with Martial Law if the did not vote to give him the money.

Wrt to this case, he says he had nothing to do with the decision to pay out all that money. I wonder who crossed out the reference to it in the official record? Whoever did that knew what they did was wrong and wanted to hide it.

[silenttigersong]

6. Henry Paulson

took economic hostages,he is like a dominatrix,with out a safe word.

[Alcibiades]

7. That's funny!

Sadly apt, but funny.

[boomerbust]

3. Make no mistake

Bush, Cheney and Paulson had a billion or two of this bailout money waiting for them.

[pjt7]

4. Is Towns allowed to invite another Congresman to ask Q & A's?

because Alan Grayson is a rock-star in knowing this issue & asking the right questions.

[sabrina 1]

5. Oh that would be a perfect choice. Grayson is the best at

questioning these corrupt Wall St. types. I love the way he won't yield either when one of their friends in Congress tries to take the heat off them.

Good question but if Towns can he should invite Grayson! I'd buy tickets to see Grayson go after Paulson.

[Piewhacket]

8. Paulson actually CAUSED the meltdown. No joke.

Remember those credit default swaps that nobody understood
that caused the meltdown?

Well I now understand them.
Easy to understand once you penetrate the massive smokescreen
of "incomprehensible" crapola.
They were a fraud. Plain and simple. The default swaps were
intrinsically worth nothing (without further fraud or government
bailout). They were based mainly on debts noncollectable because of a
technical but FUNDAMENTAL legal flaw, which Paulson and his lawyers
knew (or should have known) all about.

They sold these worthless derivitives to "sophisticated" investors.
Hilarious if it haden't basically destroyed the wold's economy.

All the investors will be made whole eventually. Its the little guy
who is paying for it.

Paulson. He's the criminal in this scene. No doubt in my mind.
The deluded scum probably thinks he's the "good guy".

[No Elephants]

9. Mixed feelings. How often do Congressional hearings actually result in anything?

If this is all show, save some taxpayer money and skip it.

[sabrina 1]

11. I'm afraid you're probably right. How often have we seen

these hearings and then heard nothing more? Those who run this country would never let anything happen to Henry Paulson. He made them all richer, even he did have to use some questionable tactics. It's okay if THEY do it. And the people no longer have any power in this country. The Rule of Law at the level at which he operates, doesn't exist.

I hope something comes of it as I believe these men, Paulson, Giethner, Bernanke and their many friends, robbed this country or at the very least, gambled away its economy. 'The Biggest Heist Ever' it has been described as, and not one of them has been held accountable. So, the odds of King Henry getting more than a slap on the wrist, are pretty slim all things considered.

[Octafish]

10. Paulson worked in the Nixon White House for John Ehrlichman, master plumber.

Nice work, if you can stand treason.

[sabrina 1]

12. I didn't know that. There is no end to

the Nixon crew it seems and they always seem to be involved in some kind of crime or another.

[Octafish]

13. Prescott Bush and Friends gave Nixon his Big Break...

...in a manner of speaking.



Sen. Prescott Bush (on the right) straightens out his young chum's hat.

Regarding Paulson, the guy sure must know how to read a spreadsheet.

[sabrina 1]

15. Looks like we have a dynasty. And people are happy

that the Bushes have been legitimized by this administration to once again, involve themselves in Haiti's affairs, believing it is even remotely possible that they are doing so for altruistic reasons.

[yurbud]

14. as soon as they sit down, the hoods should go over their heads, and they should be rendered to Gitmo

We shouldn't treat economic terrorists any differently than the other kinds.