WASHINGTON Sen. Christopher Dodd admitted yesterday that he lied when he denied creating a loophole to protect the whopping bonuses doled out at AIG.
Dodd claimed he was bullied by the Obama administration into adding a major exception to his provision that would have blocked companies receiving federal assistance from giving generous bonuses to employees.
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“I apologize if I caused some confusion about whether or not we wrote it exactly, but I didn’t write at my own behest,” Dodd (D-Conn.) said in a CNN appearance yesterday evening.
“They came to us and asked for modifications to the amendment. The alternative was, of course, losing the amendment entirely, which was a possibility,” Dodd told CNN.
An administration official disputed Dodd’s version of the events, however, telling The Post that the Treasury Department had merely flagged the provision as one that could be vulnerable to lawsuits in the future.
The official said the administration never tried to have Dodd’s original provision removed.
On Monday, Dodd insisted through a spokeswoman that he had nothing to do with the loophole which was inserted into legislation passed by Congress earlier this year to exempt his home-state employer American International Group.
Asked what changed in between his conflicting statements, Dodd said, “Well, going back and reviewing, obviously, and looking at it.”
Dodd has received more than $280,000 in campaign donations from AIG more than any other member of Congress.
The three AIG execs revealed by The Post to have received bonuses have all contributed to Dodd in the past several years.
Douglas Poling and his wife, Jennifer, gave $10,900 to Dodd, records show. James “Jackpot Jimmy” Haas, a registered Republican, donated $2,000 to Dodd’s campaign, and Jonathan Liebergall gave $2,200.
Additional reporting by Jennifer Fermino