Another Felon For Dodd To Get Pardoned?

As reported by the Washington Times yesterday and covered in this post (thanks to Moe at RedState for promoting it to the front page), AIG chief exec Joseph Cassano is an FOD (Friend of Dodd). He raised some $160k in a few months for Dodd by pressuring his peers and subordinates to pony up.

Well, it looks as though he may have more trouble than just getting caught trying to buy his way into Dodd's pocket. ABC reports that the feds are "closing in" on him for fraud. Perhaps part of the payback for Cassano for Dodd's fundraising will be a Presidential pardon at the senator's request on Obama's way out, like Dodd did with felon and BFF Edward Downe when Clinton was heading home.

This Hot Air post by Ed Morrissey also raises questions about whether the AIG employees were used as strawmen to funnel cash to Dodd. At this point, I don't think anything would surprise me.

Ed also links to an NRO post describing the first time Dodd created massive, taxpayer funded windfall legislation with the primary beneficiary being AIG.

The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act privatizes profit and socializes risk. Though he voted for the Homeland Security Act, even conservative Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) voted against the insurance measure, dubbing it "a windfall."

One of the big winners will be American International Group (AIG), the world's second-largest financial conglomerate and largest U.S. underwriter of commercial and industrial insurance. CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg was instrumental in persuading leaders of both parties to give insurance companies a handout in the event of losses ascribed to terrorism...

The federal program, which will pay out insurance company claims for losses up to $100 billion, will be triggered once the insurance industry sustains only $5 million in terror losses... The lead sponsor of the original Senate version was Democrat Chris Dodd, who represents the insurance capital, Connecticut.

Like our new lefty leaders love to believe, a crisis is a terrible thing to waste, whether it is an economic downturn or a terrorist attack.

H/T to Karl at Patterico's Pontifications.

You'd Be Foolish Not To Contribute To Chris Dodd's Campaign

In today's Washington Times there is a report about how a bunch of AIG Financial Services executives were "asked" by their CEO to donate to Chris Dodd's campaign, and to encourage their subordinates to do the same. Read AIG chief executive Joseph Cassano's email for yourself.

Was this more than just a suggestion? Well, the boss said he wanted copies of the checks they sent. And it seems pretty clear that the recipients of the email got the gist: in less than two months, Dodd received over $160,000 in donations from AIG employees and their spouses.

Did Chris Dodd have any part in this request? We may never know. And it's not illegal. So what's the big deal? Well, the email pretty explicitly calls for the donations with the understanding that they will have very real and practical effects in their favor:

With the Democrats having regained control of the Senate following the November elections, Senator Dodd is next in line to become chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. From securities litigation reform, class action reform, mutual funds, and international trade, Senator Dodd will now have the opportunity as chairman to set the committee's agenda on issues critical to the financial services industry.

And it just happens to turn out that Cassano was right on. On the eve of the passage of the stimulus bill, who tweaks an amendment that a few weeks later allows numerous AIG executives to collect about $160 million in bonuses that would not have been allowed without the last minute change by Chairman Chris Dodd! Not a bad return on an investment: donate $160k, 28 months later get $160 million.

Dodd doesn't deny any of it. Instead, he sends his spokesman to trots out his now-tired line of "it's old news." From FoxNews:

...[DeAngelis] said Dod's fundraising "has always been above-board, transparent and in accordance with campaign finance rules."

"This is a biased news story that seems to be a blatant attempt to repeat old news," DeAngelis told FoxNews. "The truth is, Senator Dodd has made it clear that he will not accept contributions from PAC's of companies receiveing (federal bailout) money and has also made it clear that if anyone who received these recent bonuses from AIG has donated to his campaigns, he will donate that money to charity."

As if the fact that he got paid off two years ago and that he was "transparently" bought off makes it okay. Just like when he got caught with his sweetheart Countrywide mortgages, he figures that since the unethical behavior was a long time ago and he recently got around to remortgaging, there is no story there.

Frankly, the fact that he doesn't seem to think any of his numerous scandals are newsworthy is nearly as worrisome as the scandals themselves.

Here are a few links on the story: NRO (and here and here), Everyday Republican, Hot Air, Courant's Capitol Watch,

And via "A Disgruntled Republican," you might get a chuckle out of this:

Hey, you hear about this? Very strange incident at JFK Airport in New York City today. An AIG executive going through security had to empty out all his pockets. You know what fell out? Senator Chris Dodd." - Jay Leno

Dodd's Wife Recevied Tens Of Thousands Of Dollars For Serving As Director For AIG-Controlled Company

Do you remember the "analogies" section of the SAT? A is to B as X is to Y? Well, after the lady Huskies dismantled Vermont 104-65 in Sunday's first round match-up, I think the following analogy is apropos.

Kevin Rennie : Chris Dodd :: UConn women's basketball team : University of Vermont

Rennie has been ripping the scabs off of Dodd's festering wounds for some time now, but today, writing for RealClearPolitics, he sticks the knife somewhere new, taking aim at Jackie Clegg Dodd's connections to AIG. Just as things started to die down on the bonus front, a new motivation for Chris Dodd to interfere on behalf of the AIG execs emerges. It's amazing how Rennie, in his free time, has turned up more info than the rest of the Courant reporters put together, isn't it?

Not only is Dodd the largest all-time recipient of campaign donations from the bailed-out insurance giant, but apparently his wife has received tens of thousands of dollars from an AIG-controlled company out of Bermuda, as well.

Clegg was compensated for her duties to the company, which was managed by a subsidiary of AIG. In 2003, according to a proxy statement, Clegg received $12,000 per year and an additional $1,000 for each Director's and committee meeting she attended.

Of course there is nothing blatantly illegal or unethical about this, but it certainly adds fuel to the fire already burning against Dodd for his deception about, and questionable motivations for, writing/allowing the exemption to the stimulus bill.

There is also an interesting, interactive map of interpersonal connections of Mrs. Dodd (and the Senator) at Muckety.

RNC Vid On AIG Flap, Cameos By Gibbs, Dodd, Obama

Check out this planned Web video from the RNC on the whole AIG fiasco, via MSNBC. I can't believe Gibbs gets paid to speak in public.

Rough Day For Dodd

Chris Dodd has had a few days he'd rather forget over the last few months, but I don't know that any have been as bad as today. It cannot be comfortable when virtually everyone, on both sides, is pointing the finger at you for something as unpopular as the Dodd Amendment has quickly become.

When it comes to Dodd, I am much more bothered by the fact that he lied about his role in the whole thing than what the amendment said or who wrote it. There is no longer any reason to believe anything he says, from his claim he didn't know he was getting a VIP loan from his buddy, to his questionable real estate dealings with a convicted felon he got a pardon for, to the real story behind the drafting of the legislative in question now.

Anyway, here is some of what Dodd was reading today:

US Conservative Politics:

As chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Dodd's made some highly suspicious decisions. He's a walking ethics nightmare. I'm guessing that if he thought about it at all, he never imagined his behind-the-back maneuver (the one where he slipped the bonus loophole into the stimulus package) would come back to haunt him, but with all the attention being paid to these gigantic corporations, how could he not? Dodd is that rare breed of politician who is either too greedy to serve the people or too dumb to swindle them. Either way, he shouldn't be in office.

Washington Post:

It seems that there's one Democrat who really should be afraid. If you listened closely yesterday in the Capitol, it's possible you heard the sound of Chris Dodd's career coming to an end. Too harsh an assessment? Perhaps, but it's hard to overstate how badly the Connecticut senator stepped in it when he admitted that he had put language in the stimulus bill ensuring that contractual bonuses were paid out at companies receiving bailout money, a day after saying he didn't know how the language got it.

Rob Simmons in the Hartford Courant:

I can't believe the chairman of a committee can take a bill to the floor and speak in favor of it and vote on it without knowing what's in it. The issue of executive compensation is obviously an important issue...you would think someone's reading the language of the bill.

Gawker:

Dodd's apparent strategy is contrition: He apologized to Blitzer over any "confusion" he may have caused with his lie. And he also announced his intention to return all donations from AIG executives. It may work, but because of his own mendacity, this episode has strengthened a growing reputation as a well-rewarded shill for the banks and mortgage lenders that ruined the country. He was regarded as a "special customer" of Countrywide Financial by CEO Angelo Mozilo, and received a sweetheart interest rate on his home mortgage. Dodd says he was unaware that he got special treatment, but how do you know whether to believe him?

The Nation:

"We are outraged to learn that Sen. Dodd, at the behest of the Obama administration, inserted a last-minute loophole into the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that allowed AIG employees to receive exorbitant bonuses at the American taxpayers' expense, and the vast majority of elected officials, not to mention the American public, missed the amendment because they only had 13 hours to read the bill!" the Sunlight Foundation commented today.

Associated Content:

Senator Chris Dodd revealed yesterday he was the one who removed the language preventing things like the AIG bonuses from happening, and he should resign. These are the kind of politicians we don't need representing us. Dodd heads the Senate Banking Committee, a position too important for this career politician. While I may enjoy his comments and personality, this is about principle. President Obama talked about changing the way Washington works, and what Dodd did is exactly what's wrong with Congress. To be in Washington for 34 years and to make this blunder is unforgivable. I've had it with the incompetence. Dodd will be lucky to win re-election in Connecticut in 2010.

Real Clear Politics:

Stepping back for a second, Chris Dodd is already in a bit of trouble in his reelection bid, based on recent polling. Obviously, this further complicates matters. Dodd is now directly associated with two of the most distasteful aspects of the current financial meltdown: getting a sweetheart mortgage from the CEO of a company that was a major player in the subprime mess, and now authoring the loophole that allowed AIG to pay $165 million in bonuses after already taking scores of billions of bailout dollars, all at taxpayers expense.

Even Stan Simpson and Helen Ubinas at the Courant think Dodd is done!

Not a good day.

Dodd's Most Recent Kick To The Groin: AIG

Just when you find yourself wondering if things could get any worse for Chris Dodd, insurance giant AIG, which he recently helped bail out, gives away $160 million of taxpayer money in bonuses to their executives. He must be sitting on his couch right now, rubbing his temples, and just wondering when it is going to let up.

In the New York Times we find an anonymous source from Obama's Treasury Department throwing Dodd under the bus for enabling AIG to get away with this:

The second group of bonuses covers some 208 retention payments from contracts entered into before government involvement in A.I.G. Indeed, in his letter to Mr. Geithner, Mr. Liddy wrote that he had shown the details of the $450 million bonus pool to outside lawyers and been told that A.I.G. had no choice but to follow through with the payment schedule.

The administration official said the Treasury Department did its own legal analysis and concluded that those contracts could not be broken. The official noted that even a provision recently pushed through Congress by Senator Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, had an exemption for such bonus agreements already in place. [emphasis added]

The administration blames this all on what they are calling the "Dodd Amendment," the executive compensation amendment to the stimulus bill that included the loophole allowing bonus payments that had already been agreed to prior to February 11. Dodd denies he was the author of that aspect of the provision , but he won't pin it on anyone else, either.

Dodd's original amendment did not include that exemption, and the Connecticut Senator denied inserting the provision.

"I can't point a finger at someone who was responsible for putting those dates in," Dodd told Fox. "I can tell you this much, when my language left the senate, it did not include it. When it came back, it did."

This post from FDL does a decent job of demonstrating the blame lies squarely on Obama and Treasury rather than Dodd. But the fact of the matter is that it doesn't matter who is to blame for that particular clause. It is all the rage these days to be outraged about how the bailed-out companies are spending taxpayer money. From the Senator's press release:

This is another outrageous example of executives - including those whose decisions were responsible for the problems that caused AIG's collapse - enriching themselves at the expense of taxpayers. A car mechanic or teacher in Connecticut shouldn’t have to subsidize the bad decisions of these executives.

Seriously, how hypocritical can our politicians be? We are talking about $160 million here. I know that used to be a lot of money, but our new President has spent like 10,000 times that much in the past two months. Literally. These bonuses are only a few years of playing third base for the Yankees. As John at Powerline pointed out, the earmarks in the recent stimulus bill accounted for $8 billion, and to run our government costs about $11 billion A DAY.

So I agree with the Senator that the taxpayers should have nothing to do with this. What's Dodd's plan to rectify this injustice? Raise taxes.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) on Monday night floated the idea of taxing American International Group bonus recipients so the government could recoup some or all of the $450 million the company is paying to employees in its financial products unit. Within hours, the idea spread to both houses of Congress, with lawmakers proposing an AIG bonus tax.

This is a classic. Let's spend almost a trillion dollars of taxpayer money, give it to failing companies, then take as much of it as we can back in taxes when they pay it to their employees. Of course, once the government does get it back, it is not as if they are going to send it back to you and me. They'll spend it on saving mice or buying prophylactics to limit the number of consumers draining our economy.

If only our legal system had developed a way for companies that were in financial trouble to restructure themselves and get out of contracts that require payments of millions of dollars of bonuses to the people who crashed the company without raping the American taxpayer. Like this.

As all of this mess were not bad enough for Dodd, the world has yet another reason to be reminded that he was the top recipient of campaign contributions from AIG, closely followed by President Obama.

Looking back at the past year, it is difficult to comprehend how Chris Dodd has managed to survive in politics over the past three decades. It is time for him to go.

UPDATE: I swear to you I am not making this up... Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has demanded that AIG pay back the $160 million in bonuses with taxpayer money that the government will give them in the near future. Unreal.