AIG chiefs hurry to make a donation to Dodd

 

Tuesday, Mar 31,2009, 11:50:19 AM   Click:

Copyright: The Washington Times
Source: Washington Times, The
Wordcount: 1233


Mar. 30--EXCLUSIVE:

As Democrats prepared to take control of Congress after the 2006 elections, a boss at insurance giant American International Group Inc has told his colleagues that Senator Christopher J. Dodd, was seeking re-election donations, and he implored business leaders and their spouses.

The message in the 17 November 2006, e-mail to Joseph Cassano, AIG Financial Products CEO, was unequivocal: Mr. Dodd was "next in line" to be president of the Senate Banking, Housing and the Committee on Urban Affairs, which oversees the insurance industry, and it would have the opportunity to set the agenda of the Committee on issues critical to the financial services industry.

"Given his seniority in the Senate, he will also play a key role in the Democratic majority leadership, Mr. Cassano said in the message, obtained by The Washington Times.

Mr. Dodd has hit the campaign pay dirt quickly, collecting over $ 160,000 for employees and their spouses to the AIG Financial Products (AIG-FP) in Wilton, Connecticut, in the days before he resumed as the committee chairman in January 2007. A few months later, the senator has transferred donations to launch his presidential candidacy in 2008, which failed.

Now, two years later, Mr. Dodd has emerged as a central figure in the government decision to allow AIG executives, failing that, now raised more than $ 218 million in bonuses, according to the Attorney General of Connecticut - even though the company was receiving billions of dollars in assistance from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). He acknowledged that he had slipped into law a provision in February that allowed the premiums, but that the Treasury Department asked him to do so.

The decision sparked national outrage and put the Obama administration in a position to try to collect the bonus after they were distributed. It also endangers M. Dodd 's chances of reelection in 2010 as his popularity falls in its home state.


Despite all the claims that Washington has changed, the story of Mr. Dodd 's profit for the political AIG is another reminder that the special interests continue to use the donations and fundraising to sow good will with powerful legislators like Mr. Dodd.

"The message seems clear: the boss says I want you to support the senator," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of impartiality Center for Responsive Politics, which studies the funding policies and ethics. "And I think that employees have the message."

Representatives of Mr. Dodd did not respond to specific questions on AIG from fundraising, but spokesman Bryan DeAngelis said: "Senator Dodd, fundraising has always been above board, transparency and in accordance with the rules of campaign financing.

"As he said [this month], the contributions received from any person who has accepted these premiums AIG last week, will be donated to charity. And last fall, he decided to no longer accept contributions of [political action committees] TARP companies receive the money. "

Officials of AIG-FP in Wilton inquiries referred to the company's New York headquarters, where spokesman Mark said he had been at work three weeks and did no information on e-mail or contributions to the campaign of Mr. Dodd.

Mr. Cassano's lawyer in Washington, Joseph F. Warin, has not returned messages left on their voice mail or e-mail.

M. Dodd 's fate also signals that the measures taken by the legislature after receiving the gifts are the major policies to be scrutinized by a public increasingly suspicious. A recent Quinnipiac University poll late Mr. Dodd 43 percent to 42 percent behind former Rep. Rob Simmons, a Republican who intends to challenge Mr. Dodd, in a hypothetical race.

"The concern and the question is whether AIG was the purchase of gloves treatment for children from their country of origin Senator - the Senator who chairs the committee charged with oversight of their industry," said Ms. Krumholz.

Political opponents are already using Mr. Dodd associated with AIG and its role in the premiums to weaken its position in politics permanent re-election.

AIG employees were major donors to Mr. Dodd. During his career, Mr. Dodd has collected $ 238,418 AIG employees and their spouses, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Mr. Cassano has donated $ 7118 to Mr. Dodd 's campaigns.

Mr. Cassano November 2006 e-mail to colleagues on how to make donations to the senator from Connecticut.

"As he considers running for the presidency in 2008, Senator Dodd asked for our support for his re-election campaign and have offered support," wrote Mr. Cassano.

Employees have said, "If you agree," to write checks from $ 2100 for themselves and their spouses and to send them to Mr. Dodd in the country within four days. They also ask their senior management teams to do likewise and send copies of their checks to the company.

The Dodd campaign collected $ 162,100 from AIG-FP employees and their spouses within six weeks of e-mail, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics and Federal Election Commission.

Each of the seven leaders of AIG-FP to which Cassano e-mail has been sent $ 2100 made two contributions to the Dodd campaign - one for primary and another for the election campaign. The records also show that five of their wives have also contributed $ 4200 each to the Dodd campaign. The Vice Presidents are Alan Frost, David Ackert, Douglas L. Poling, Jake DeSantis, Jon Liebergall, Robert and William Leary Kolbert.

Mr. Cassano, who resigned in February after AIG-FP have recorded losses of $ 11 billion, followed his own advice. He and his wife gave Mr. Dodd of the campaign to $ 4200 each.


Political fundraising in the workplace is legal, but a request from a boss in May to be considered a requirement, a monitoring campaign said.

"Implicit in this [email] is the presumption that, at best, non-compliance will not be viewed favorably ... at worst, it May have a negative impact on employees," said Krumholz.

Mr. Dodd in the country paid for events to AIG, too. The Senate, the campaign received the $ 400 payment to AIG Food Services on 7 December 2006, about two weeks after the e-mail has been sent. In March 2007, his presidential campaign AIG-FP paid $ 250 for rental of a room, according to the Election Commission filings. Payments may have been recorded weeks after the events took place.

Say monitoring groups Mr. Dodd 's close association with AIG - during his career, company employees have been one of its biggest donor bases - raises questions about its committee and its ability to provide the control objective. It was the $ 218 million in premiums paid by AIG, which has become the target of public outrage, igniting a torrent of criticism and congressional hearings as a result of loans from the federal government.

Earlier this month, Mr. Dodd had supported the amendment to a bill that exempted economic stimulus bonus bailout to firms that federal funds previously agreed. He first denied having any role in the development of language, but he said later that officials from the Treasury Department to put pressure on the change of Government to protect the prosecution.

Although the AIG-FP is the seat of Mr. Dodd, the State of origin and a number of authorized bonuses for company executives have been in this position, Mr. Dodd said he n had no idea the change would have an impact on society.

"Let me be clear: I was completely ignorant of these premiums to AIG I learned of them last week," he told CNN last week. "I accepted with reluctance. I change the amendment because others have insisted."



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