Chris Dodd And AIG

Chris Dodd is squirming as liars do, and Dodd is a liar.

Yesterday:

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, who originally proposed the executive compensation provision, said he did not include the exemption clause, which said new rules "shall not be construed to prohibit any bonus payment required to be paid pursuant to a written employment contract executed on or before February 11, 2009."

In an interview with CNN, Dodd denied inserting that exemption at the 11th hour, and insisted he doesn't know how it got there.

"When I wrote the language there was no such language like that," Dodd told CNN Tuesday.

LIAR.

Dodd was lying, flat-out lying.

It wasn't even a Bill Clinton sort of "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is" lie.

Dodd's was a total, clear lie.

This evening:

Senate Banking committee Chairman Christopher Dodd told CNN’s Dana Bash and Wolf Blitzer Wednesday that he was responsible for adding the bonus loophole into the stimulus package that permitted AIG and other companies that received bailout funds to pay bonuses.

Watch Dodd admit that he's a liar. Of course, he doesn't actually say he lied yesterday, but that is what he's saying.


______________

Dodd issued this statement Wednesday evening:

“I’m the one who has led the fight against excessive executive compensation, often over the objections of many. I did not want to make any changes to my original Senate-passed amendment but I did so at the request of Administration officials, who gave us no indication that this was in any way related to AIG. Let me be clear – I was completely unaware of these AIG bonuses until I learned of them last week.

“Reports that I changed my position on this issue are simply untrue. I answered a question by CNN last night regarding whether or not a specific date was aimed at protecting AIG. When I saw that my comments had been misconstrued, I felt it was important to set the record straight – that this had nothing to do with AIG.

“Fortunately, we wrote this amendment in a way that allows the Treasury Department to go back and review these bonus contracts and seek to recover the money for taxpayers. Again, I have led the fight to curb excessive executive compensation, and will continue to do so.”

Dodd is spinning feverishly.

He originally denied having anything at all to do with the amendment.

Moreover, the language of his amendment has ramifications for other institutions that accepted bailout money. Its impact is far-reaching.

AIG per se wasn't the issue. The issue was his involvement with the amendment.