Money | Barack Obama Obama Goes After AIG Bonuses President instructs Geithner to use "every legal avenue" to reclaim funds By Nick McMaster Posted Mar 16, 2009 12:16 PM CDT Copied President Barack Obama gestures during his meeting with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Saturday, March 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) President Obama has asked Tim Geithner to use “every legal avenue” to prevent AIG from paying out $165 million in bonuses to top employees who had a hand in the company's near-collapse, the Wall Street Journal reports. "This isn't just a matter of dollars and cents. It's about our fundamental values," said Obama. "This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed," Obama said. "Under these circumstances, it's hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay. How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?" Read These Next Iran's new leader issued a defiant first statement. Country star cancels rest of his tour: 'I am mentally unwell.' Report finds uninjured cop took an ambulance as a dying man waited. Second 'Doomsday Plane' in 2 months is seen over California. Report an error