Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Congress members contend they learned about the controversial bonuses for executives of bailed-out insurance giant AIG only late last week, but C-SPAN video shows a lawmaker mentioning the payouts as he questioned Geithner during a House committee hearing March 3.
Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., specifically referred to more than $162 million in bonuses to be paid to AIG executives in the coming weeks, reports HotAir.com blogger Ed Morrissey.
At the House Ways and Means Committee hearing, the congressman noted to Geithner that last month AIG FP, the company’s financial products division, paid 343 employees $56 million in bonuses and is “slated to pay an additional $162 million in bonuses to 393 participants in the coming weeks.”
The federal government has given AIG $180 billion since September in exchange for an 80 percent stake, arguing the company’s failure would be catastrophic to the economy.
