The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, under the leadership of future Teasury Secretary Tim Geithner, invoked “national security” as an excuse to conceal details of the taxpayer-funded bailout of American International Group, Reuters is reporting.
In an email sent out by the Fed in January 2009, the Fed and AIG cited “national security interests” as a reason to invoke “special security procedures” to hide details of the bailout from public view.
The Fed demanded “assurances” from the Securities and Exchange Commission that only a limited number of SEC employees would have access to information on the bailout and insisted on a public blackout of details.
Geithner latee joined the Obama administration as Treasury Secretary even as questioned remained about what critics saw as his “cozy” relationship with AIG and other large financial institutions regulated by the Fed.
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