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Phil Angelides

Stiglitz, Galbraith, Reich To Financial Crisis Panel: Get To The Truth!

Zachary Roth | July 22, 2009, 5:28PM

Looks like were not the only ones who are concerned that the Congressional commission to look into the causes of the financial crisis may struggle to get to the truth.

A group of distinguished economists, academics, and thinkers -- including Joseph Stiglitz, Jamie Galbraith, and Robert Reich -- has written an open letter to the newly-named commissioners, urging them to come together "in non-partisan cooperation to investigate the origins of the financial crisis in ways that lead to a full understanding of the institutions, people and practices that are responsible for our economic collapse."

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Topics: Financial Crisis, Phil Angelides, Wall Street

AIG

Financial Crisis Panel Will Probe AIG Bailouts, Says Chair

Zachary Roth | July 22, 2009, 12:26PM

The man who will lead the special congressional effort to probe the causes of the financial crisis says his panel will also consider the government's response to the events of last fall -- including the controversial serial bailouts of AIG.

In an interview with TPMmuckraker, Phil Angelides, the former California treasurer who was recently named by Congress to chair the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, noted that the statute that created his panel required it to look not just at the financial institutions that failed, but also at those that would have failed but for massive government intervention. That means that "it's going to be hard not to touch on those issues," said Angelides, referring to the various AIG bailouts -- which some have portrayed as disingenuous backdoor efforts to save AIG counterparties like Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch from the consequences of their bad bets -- as well as other moves by the government to prevent a wider collapse of the financial sector.