Meet Chris Dodd, the Senator from AIG
Two AIG executives fingered by the New York Post as recipients of blood-money bonuses donated to the presidential campaign of Sen. Chris Dodd, who is fighting off claims of coziness with the toxic insurer.
AIG execs Douglas Poling and Jonathan Liebergall, both of Connecticut, each donated $2,100 to Chris Dodd for President in late 2006. Liebergall had also donated $1,500 to Dodd's campaign in 2004.
The stimulus package severely limited the ability of bailout-recipients to pay bonuses. But Dodd inserted language that provided an "exception for contractually obligated bonuses agreed on before Feb. 11, 2009," which allowed for the AIG payouts. UPDATE: Though Dodd has been happy to take credit for what's known as "the Dodd Amendment," which limited executive compensation to bailed-out firms, his spokesman e-mailed to point out that Dodd's original language did not contain the exception that allowed the AIG bonuses. That was added later, in conference to reconcile the House and Senate bills, apparently at the request of the Treasury Department. Stories in the New York Times, Fox Business, and the D.C. Examiner have pinned the language on Dodd, but they appear to be incorrect. As were we.
It's been noted that Dodd has received $280,238 in campaign cash from AIG executives and political action committees over the past 20 years; now we know that two of the actual Bonus Villains personally cut checks. With a nice return on the investment, one assumes.