Washington Babylon — March 17, 2009, 7:02 pm

Senator Schumer and AIG: A short timeline

U.S. News, March 17, 2009:

“They should voluntarily return them. If they don’t, we plan to tax virtually all of it,” New York Sen. Chuck Schumer declared on the Senate floor. “To those of you getting these bonuses: be forewarned, you will not be getting to keep them.”

Newsweek, April 25, 2005:

Maurice (Hank) Greenberg, the ousted chief of American International Group, doesn’t seem to have many people rushing to defend him these days. Last week New York’s attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, attacked the former CEO on national television, saying “the evidence is overwhelming” that a series of transactions completed by the company under Greenberg’s watch constituted “fraud,” and that Greenberg could face criminal charges. But he has at least one friend in high places. NEWSWEEK has learned that after Spitzer’s outburst, Greenberg called another New York politician, Sen. Charles Schumer, and asked for a “supportive public statement.” Schumer’s spokesman confirmed that the two men talked: “The senator expressed some sympathy for his personal situation. Greenberg asked him to make a public statement of support, which he has not done, and has no plans to do.” Another person who knows of the talk says Schumer told Greenberg he agreed Spitzer’s words were excessive.

New York Post, February 17, 2004:

Sen. Charles Schumer has compiled a powerhouse list of more than 200 fat-cat supporters for his re-election, including some of President Bush”s top fund-raisers, The Post has learned. The list – which the Democrat’s campaign will make public today – includes a dozen of Bush’s top contributors, the so-called “Rangers” and “Pioneers” who have pledged to raise up to $200,000 for the president’s bid for re-election…Other Bush “Pioneers” and “Rangers” – those raising $200,000 or more – include Bears Stearns Chairman James Cayne; AIG Chairman Hank Greenberg; Johnson Company’s Robert Wood Johnson IV; Kohlberg, Kravis’ Henry Kravis; Credit Suisse First Boston CEO John Mack; Merrill Lynch chairman Stan O’Neal; and Goldman Sachs CEO Hank Paulson.

Daily News, July 23, 1998:

In 1989, Schumer along with D’Amato helped push legislation to get insurers, led by American International Group, off the hook for policies they wrote to directors and officers of banks and thrifts that went belly up in the 1980s. Over the past six years, AIG has contributed more than $ 40,000 to Schummer campaigns and $ 14,000 to D’Amato.

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