The Derivative Project Calls On House Tea Party Chair, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (R MN), to Launch House Oversight Investigation into the use of U.S. Taxpayer Funds for AIG Bailout

MINNEAPOLIS, April 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 14, 2011, The Derivative Project, a Minnesota-based non-partisan, taxpayer advocacy organization, delivered a request to Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann's Woodbury, MN office, for an immediate House Oversight Committee investigation of all U.S. taxpayer payments to AIG commencing in fiscal year 2008.

The Derivative Project is requesting this investigation be completed in conjunction with Congresswoman Bachmann's legislation, sponsored in January 2011, to repeal the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill. The full text of this letter will be made available at The Derivative Project's website, www.thederivativeproject.com and Blog, blog.thederivativeproject.com.

The Derivative Project requested of Congresswoman Bachmann in this memorandum, the following investigation:

• What legislation does The Tea Party Caucus and House Republicans propose to prevent taxpayer dollars from being used in the future to fund speculative positions by an end user, like AIG, or other financial institutions if Dodd-Frank is repealed?
• Are there substantive issues for House Oversight Committee investigation of unequal enforcement of U.S. financial contract law, where U.S. individuals are imprisoned for breach of a financial contract and U.S. corporations and its representatives are allowed a "stupidity" defense, when there is a preponderance of evidence the corporate financial contracts are fraudulent?
• The Tea Party Caucus and the House Republicans launch a complete House Oversight Investigation of the use of taxpayer dollars to fund collateral call payments to Goldman Sachs and other AIG counterparties during the most recent financial crisis, specifically why these financial contracts were not deemed fraudulent between AIG and Goldman Sachs and unwound in an orderly fashion.
• The Tea Party Caucus and the House Republicans request a ruling from Attorney General Eric Holder on why the financial contracts between AIG and Goldman Sachs were not deemed fraudulent and a constitutional misuse of taxpayer dollars by the U.S. Department of Treasury headed by then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who had a material conflict of interest in proposing this use of $180 billion of U.S. taxpayer dollars since he had been a partner of Goldman Sachs.  Should the U.S. Treasury Secretary have recused himself from the recommendation that U.S. taxpayers fund collateral call payments from AIG to Goldman Sachs?
• The Tea Party Caucus and the House Republicans investigate if the $50 billion in taxpayer funds funneled to several banks for AIG collateral payments on derivative financial contract positions should be refunded by the banks to the U.S. taxpayer.

The Derivative Project is a non-partisan, Minnesota - based taxpayer advocacy organization that seeks to ensure the long-term stability of the U.S. economy through equitable enforcement, for both individuals and corporations, of financial laws and regulations.

SOURCE The Derivative Project