Complete asshole to testify today

AIG Debacle Not My Fault, Says Greenberg; Testifies Today

As Congress presses for answers on what went wrong at American International Group Inc. and what to do next, lawmakers are turning Thursday to the man who built the small insurer into a world-wide conglomerate.

Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg, 83 years old, is scheduled to appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He plans to argue for slimming down the government's stake in AIG and pressuring trading partners that got huge payments as a result of the insurer's bailout to funnel some of that money back into AIG as an investment.
...
"I don't feel any responsibility at all" for AIG's problems, Mr. Greenberg said in the interview. "How can I be responsible for something that occurred when I'm not there?"
...
"Of course, I lost considerable net worth," said Mr. Greenberg, who also heads another firm, C.V. Starr & Co. "But I'm working. My life is not materially changed."

So you ran AIG for 38 years, but because the company didn't completely collapse until after you were removed for numerous scandals and illegal business practices, it is in no way your fault. Oh, you're a peach Hank. It would be completely unfortunate if you were to fall into a combine harvester. We'd lose so much.

Luckily he's going to testify in front of the the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today, so one of those lucky duckies gets to ask him if he's fucking high. Of course because this is America, his testimony is being protested by the Republican party who don't feel it's useful to talk to the guy who ran AIG for nearly four decades and AIG itself has already started sending out attack dossiers to try to discredit him. First thing AIG put on that list to make Greenberg seem incompetent and morally bankrupt: he worked for AIG for 4+ decades. That's some tough but fair criticism. The attack piece is called "the Greenberg Legacy" and dumps the entire AIGFP credit default swap mess at his feet. What it means is that they probably wont dot any I's with hearts or affix any smiley face stickers to whatever large bonus payment they haven't made to him yet.

All in all, it should be a good day. We either get substantive testimony about what happened or we get to see a dissembling cryptkeeper try to pretend he wasn't running AIG for four decades. Truth after it's too late to do anything or the comedy of outrage, it's all we have to look forward to anymore.