Bernanke Can Be Deposed in AIG Bailout Suit, Court Rules

[Purveyor]

By Sara Forden - Jul 29, 2013

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will have to give testimony in a lawsuit against the U.S. brought by Maurice “Hank” Greenberg over the government’s bailout of American International Group Inc. (AIG)

Greenberg’s Starr International Co. sued the U.S. for $25 billion in 2011, claiming the assumption of 80 percent of AIG’s stock by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in September 2008 was a seizure of property that violated shareholders’ constitutional rights to due process and equal protection of the law. Switzerland-based Starr contended Bernanke’s role in transaction made his testimony critical to its suit.

“The court is persuaded that Mr. Bernanke is a key witness in this case and that his testimony will be highly relevant to the issues presented,” Judge Thomas Wheeler of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims wrote in the ruling today. “Because of Mr. Bernanke’s personal involvement in the decision-making process to bail out AIG, it is improbable that the plaintiff would be able to obtain the same testimony or evidence from other persons or sources.”

The government argued that whatever Bernanke has to say is available from other sources, including Board of Governors meeting minutes and the depositions of lower-ranking officials, according to a Justice Department filing on July 16.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-29/bernanke-can-be-deposed-in-aig-bailout-suit-court-rules.html

[PoliticAverse]

1. "Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud, hatch out!". n/t