An attorney who has filed a $200 billion lawsuit against Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox over the collapse and taxpayer bailout of American International Group says the case suddenly is becoming more important.

Tim Geithner

As WND has reported, the case was brought by attorney Larry Klayman and his public interest law firm, Freedom Watch USA, on behalf of shareholders of AIG who have watched the value of the company plummet by some $214 billion.

The class action lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles is a "wide reaching" claim that will do what Congress cannot, Klayman has told WND, adding. "The American people, not the compromised ruling elite in Washington, D.C., have begun a second American Revolution to take the country back from the con men on Wall Street, and on Pennsylvania Avenue – who under successive administrations played a central role in the meltdown of the U.S. financial system and economy."

But he says now that AIG has admitted that it paid out an estimated $455 million in bonuses that mostly previously were kept secret, Klayman said, "This case now takes on even greater significance, as the Obama administration is doling out more money to banks, nationalizing auto companies, and socializing the country in a manner that could never have been even dreamed of by Karl Marx."

"This administration, which clearly is trying to seize on the economic crisis to move the country toward near total government control, is ironically itself intellectually bankrupt and incompetent to boot," Klayman stated.

(Story continues below)

"President Obama is all talk; but behind the flash and feel-good presentations, there exists a neophyte who simply does not have a grip on the body politic of the country or economics," Klayman continued. "Time will show that this period in American history is likely to produce disastrous results, following a prior period when an unintelligent and disengaged president –George W. Bush – did his own severe damage.

"It now is up the American people, collectively and through citizen action, such as by joining Freedom Watch, to look after their own interests and not depend on government as their savior. The American people have only one savior, and He is not President Obama," the attorney said.

According to reports, AIG reported this week it either paid or set aside about $1.5 billion for various bonuses for its workers. That's as the company took $180 billion of U.S. taxpayer money to operate.

The company faced severe criticism earlier this year when it handed out $165 million in bonuses while depending on taxpayers to bankroll its functions.

The complaint by Freedom Watch alleges Geithner, Paulson and others violated the constitutional rights of the shareholders by denying them the right to their property, the shares themselves.

"The inspiration for this amendment was information disclosed by University of Missouri professor William K. Black on the Bill Moyers' PBS television show ... where he implicated these government officials in a massive cover up of the banking scandal, mostly for the benefit of Goldman Sachs, the former employer of both Paulson and Geithner, in which they held a significant financial interest," Klayman reported to WND when the complaint was filed.

"As for Cox, his reckless and intentionally impotent oversight at the SEC is the basis for the claim against him," he said.

Klayman noted that under precedent established by the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. vs. Bivens, the defendants can be named as individuals, as well as officials.

Klayman also decried the apparent attempt by AIG CEO Edward Liddy to avoid being served with the original lawsuit.

On at least three occasions already, he has "run," telling AIG security not to allow process servers into his office suite, Klayman said.

"This is an absolute disgrace," said Klayman. "It shows the complete lack of respect AIG and its directors have for the Rule of Law. Liddy can run but he cannot hide. It's only a matter of time before he and his co-horts, along with Geithner, Paulson and Cox, will be held accountable by the American people, not compromised politicians in Washington, D.C., like Barney Frank Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

The complaint alleges the defendants "jointly and severally, have seriously undermined and damaged AIG's financial health and valuable past reputation by systematically causing and/or permitting the company to engage in a litany of highly risky, detrimental and reckless business dealings …. that have caused the company to verge on bankruptcy and which have required in excess of $190 billion dollars to date of government provided monies to prevent total company failure."

The action seeks judgments against defendants "for the amount of damages sustained by the shareholders as a result of the defendants' breaches of fiduciary duties, gross mismanagement and waste of corporate assets, causing a descrease in shareholders equity in an amount in excess of $200 billion dollars."

The lawsuit alleges the defendants, also including Richard Holbrooke and Martin Feldstein of the Obama administration, have caused the company's value in 1990 to drop from "approximately $217 billion dollars" to today's estimated $3.5 billion, "a net decline of $214.5 billion based on the market capitalization rate formula."

AIG used "financially unsound" credit default swap derivative contracts and collateralized debt obligations to expose the company to "enormous risk," the suit says.

"After AIG posted a record breaking $62 billion dollar loss for the 4th quarter of 2008, the defendants, each and every one of them, incredibly paid out $165 million dollars in bonuses to its executives in March of 2009 and $55 million dollars in December of 2008 for this poor performance, and also paid out dividends when this was not reasonable or warranted under the circumstances," Klayman's case alleges.

Related offers:

"The Audacity of Deceit: Barack Obama's War on American Values,"

Get Whistleblower magazine's exclusive special report on Obama

Previous stories:

Geithner, Paulson named in $200 billion lawsuit

AIG value drop of $214 billion draws lawsuit

3 in 4 say Congress should return AIG money

Do Americans have anything in common with Obama?

Glenn Beck to interview 'Audacity' author

Obama exposé hits chord with readers

'Audacity of Deceit' challenging candidate's 'Change We Can Believe In'

The Audacity of Deceit': Get ready for another Obama exposé