If I Knew, I Would Have 'Rejected' Legislation: Dodd

Sen. Chris Dodd says that if he had known the purpose of changes to legislation he drafted for the stimulus package, he “would have flatly rejected it,” CNN reports. Dodd’s rewrite, at the behest of unnamed Treasury officials, allowed AIG and others receiving federal assistance to dole out millions in previously promised bonuses. The Connecticut Democrat says he was led to believe that the changes were “technical and innocuous,” and that he agreed “reluctantly.”

A Treasury official admitted that the Obama administration had pushed the changes, and joined Dodd in saying the rationale was to avoid lawsuits. Meanwhile, an AIG exec today returned his $6 million bonus, saying “it’s the correct thing to do,” and CEO Edward Liddy said other employees are doing the same. (More AIG stories.)