AIG bonuses: OBAMA KNEW!

I mean, just a couple of weeks ago, Obama spox Robert Gibbs was confident the administration knew where AIG’s money was being spent:

From White House press secretary Robert Gibbs’ briefing two weeks ago, when $30 billion in additional funds were announced for AIG.

TAPPER: AIG, is the administration confident that it, that it knows what happened to the tens of billions of dollars previously given to AIG?

GIBBS: Is it confident — I’m sorry?

TAPPER: That they know — that you guys know what happened to the previous billions before you hand over this next $30 billion.

GIBBS: Yes — yes, the — I mean, I don’t think it’s a — well, obviously, you’ve got a huge insurance company that is losing money, not the least of which because of its sheer size and sheer size and decrease in the growth in our economy. It experiences a far bigger drop, largely because of its size. But, again, the steps that — that Treasury and — and others took were to ensure a larger systemic problem wasn’t one that we had to deal with here today in letting something just die.

TAPPER: But in terms of specifically the — I guess it’s like $150 billion before, you guys are confident…

GIBBS: Yes.

Another great gotcha by Jake Tapper.

Seriously, the fact that Obama didn’t know doesn’t surprise me. And, sadly, the fact that no one else seemed to know doesn’t surprise me either. These days it doesn’t seem like anyone has a clue what’s going on – not Obama, not Congress, not his various “czars” …

And Obama announced today that he has ordered Treasury Sec. Tim “Turbo Tax” Geithner to try and find a way to block the AIG bonuses. Tom Maguire sorts through the suggestions on the bonuses made by various pundits and bloggers here. Related thoughts on the bonus issue in general here.

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