Geithner Had No AIG Role, Says Official
WASHINGTON -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wasn't involved in deliberations between the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and American International Group Inc. over what the insurer should disclose in regulatory filings, a top bank official said in a letter to a U.S. lawmaker.</br></br>Thomas Baxter Jr., general counsel at the New York Fed, said in a Friday letter to Rep. Darrell Issa (R, Calif.), ranking Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, that then New York Fed President Geithner "played no role in, and had no knowledge of, the disclosure deliberations and communications referenced in those emails."</br></br>The emails in question, released by Mr. Issa's office Thursday, show that officials at the regional Fed bank told AIG not to disclose key details of their agreements to make big payouts to banks in late 2008. AIG later had to amend its regulatory filings several times and provide the information after the Securities and Exchange Commission requested more disclosure.</br></br>"This letter raises more questions on the inner-workings of the New York Fed during one of the most pivotal periods in our nation's history," Mr. Issa said.</br></br>Credit: By Michael R. Crittenden