AIG, Paulson and Geithner

The Market Ticker ^ | 1/27/10 | Karl Denninger

[FromLori]

These hearings are simply amazing.

First, Tim Geithner. Timmy made a lot of noise about "total meltdown" risk (and indeed even referenced the possible loss of civil order!) but the question that was not asked is this: Who stoked that fear in Congress? That would be Bernanke and Paulson, right? They in fact told Congress "either hand over $700 billion for buying troubled assets or tanks will be in the streets."

But then - on top of that - they didn't do what they said they needed the money for and there were no tanks!

So we're stuck with a handful of facts, none of which are in dispute:

Congress was told that either $700 billion be handed out immediately or civil order would be lost. They were told this by Bernanke and Paulson and believed it.

Congress took the action Paulson and Bernanke demanded but then did not spend the money as they said they would, and yet the "or else" did not happen.

Yet neither Paulson or Geithner will take responsibility for the precise actions taken during what they, along with Bernanke, claimed was literally an "end of the world" event! Paulson gets the cake though - he admitted (under oath!) that The Fed just blatantly printed the money to rescue AIG and the banks (!!!)

So let's see - it wasn't his decision, it wasn't Timmy's decision, and yet at the very same time the entire world was about to come to an end unless the Congress immediately handed over $700 billion of taxpayer money?

Oh, and let's keep going. Paulson got skewered with what I pointed out in August of last year - that is, that he knew full well he wasn't going to buy any "toxic assets" prior to the final vote being taken in The House but notified nobody in Congress of this fact.

Then Mr. Baxter's turn comes and he says that Geithner signed off on paying AIG counterparties at par.

Didn't Timmy claim he had no part in the negotiations with AIG and the determination of what to pay? I thought he did..... maybe I misheard, but I seem to remember that he has continually maintained that he had no part in the decision process and in fact recused himself......

Oh wait - here it is!

I had no role in making decisions regarding what to disclose about the specific financial terms of Maiden Lane II and Maiden Lane III, and payments to AIGs counterparties.

Uhhhhhhh Turbotax Timmy? How do you explain that?

[FromLori]

Ping list whole host of related stories

This one has video with Sen. de Mint

http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/1906-AIG-and-NY-Fed-Whos-Involved.html

CHART OF THE DAY: How The AIG Bailout REALLY Worked

SocGen received $2.5 billion more.

Hope the Europeans appreciate your (the taxpayer) ponying up.

http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-how-the-aig-bailout-worked-2010-1#comment-4b60cf1900000000007d3bab

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/what-does-senator-bunning-know

Update: Unredacted AIG Schedule A Released And Initial Data Spread

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/aig-schedule-released

Darrell Issa Is In Possession Of AIG’s Redacted Schedule A, Wants To Make List Public

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/darrell-issa-possession-aigs-redacted-schedule-wants-make-list-public

[Gaffer]

Well, under fair-practice and honest rule of law I'd say that little Timmy had best figure out how to tape his ass shut for those cold nights in the cell. But with this administration all that will happen is that some headlines about ass-chewing will be printed (for the voters to recall later when the candidates are claiming "hardline" oversight of the taxpayers' money).....then they will go back to getting rich and getting more and more power...

These people are truly unscrupulous and EVIL.

[FromLori]

Geithner sure can put on a show did you see the testimony?

Note..

Issa noted that the AIG payments to counter-parties “likely will never be repaid to the American people.”

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/economy-watch/2010/01/geithner_heads_to_hill_to_get.html?hpid=topnews

[AAABEST]

These people are nothing more than white collar criminals in suits and ties. If any significant percentage of the American citizenry had half a clue of what's been done to them, they would be dragged through the streets.

What I saw today in the house actually gave me hope that there might eventually be SOME type of justice for - QUITE LITERALLY - the greatest ripoff in world history.

I couldn't get over how democrats and GOP members of that committee were, to a person, all on the same page. They all were filled with TRUE anger and indignation, not the feigned type of indignation usually seen in Washington. I actually found myself wanting to high-five liberal democrat John Lewis.

[Eyes Unclouded]

Keep smoking that stuff man. No one is going to jail for this and the money isn’t coming back.