The government is trying to block questioning of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in a lawsuit by the former head of American International Group.
The Justice Department told a federal appeals court yesterday that high-ranking officials should not have to testify except in extraordinary circumstances.
Former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg sued the government over the $182 billion bailout of the insurance giant that has since been repaid. Greenberg claims the bailout terms were too onerous and is seeking at least $25 billion.
It is rare for a Fed chairman to be questioned in a lawsuit, but US Court of Federal Claims Judge Thomas Wheeler ruled that Bernanke has firsthand knowledge of the bailout and should undergo questioning.
The Justice Department wants the appeals court to order Wheeler to block the questioning. Parties to a lawsuit do not have the right to depose agency officials to cross-examine the basis of their decisions, the Justice Department argued.
Greenberg’s Starr International Co. was once AIG’s largest shareholder, with a 12 percent stake.
Alanna Rutherford, a lawyer for Starr, said in response to the government’s filing: “It’s disappointing that the government seeks to delay discovery of the facts in this important case.”