An epidemic of lying

Remember just a few months ago when George W. Bush was president?

One of the most common charges leveled at the Bush administration by liberal politicians, commentators, editors and bloggers was the "lies" told by President Bush.  They were especially angered (an anger which festered year after year) about the lack of WMDs in Iraq.  Of course, they fail to mention that bad information isn't really a lie.  All of our intelligence, the British intelligence, and all of the evidence that was in the possession of members of Congress suggested that Saddam still had WMDs, even if that couldn't be confirmed by UN investigators at the time.

The point is, that if you say something you believe to be true, it may be wrong, but it isn't a lie. A lie, by definition is saying something you know not to be true, or deception by word or deed.

Yesterday, we learned that Chris Dodd, D-Conn (or is it D-Con?) intentionally and knowingly lied to reporters about the AIG bonuses.  I don't care what anyone says about how "important" this lie might have been or might not have been. Dodd lied for political reasons to protect himself, and he lied about something he did that cost the American taxpayers millions and millions and millions and millions of dollars.

Today, we learn that the lies probably go deeper.  In fact, right into the heart of the Obama administration. In fact, this could have been predicted, based on past behavior.  The man who lied about owing taxes and blamed the complexities of Turbo Tax for his problems may have lied to us again.

Time magazine, that arch-conservative publication, is reporting that Timothy Geithner "misled" Congress in his testimony about the AIG bonuses yesterday.

From TIME:

Although Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told congressional leaders on Tuesday that he learned of AIG's impending $160 million bonus payments to members of its troubled financial-products unit on March 10, sources tell TIME that the New York Federal Reserve informed Treasury staff that the payments were imminent on Feb. 28. That is 10 days before Treasury staffers say they first learned "full details" of the bonus plan, and three days before the Administration launched a new $30 billion infusion of cash for AIG.

"Treasury staff was informed about the new bonuses in a Feb. 28 memo that the March 15 [bonus-payment] date was upcoming," a Federal Reserve source tells TIME. A Treasury Department source, speaking on background, confirmed the e-mail memo and its contents, saying, "Everybody knew that [AIG] had a retention issue."

Of course, there is already an innocent explanation.  You already know what it is:  They are pinning the blame on some low level staffer.  Blame rolls downhill in Washington.  The buck never stops at the top. Dodd blames the treasury, Geithner blames a low level staffer, and some low level staffer, who has probably given their whole career for a low paying government position will become a sacrificial lamb for the Democratic party.

Geithner should resign.  If he didn't know about the AIG bonuses earlier than he says, he's incompetent.  If he did, he is a liar and a deceiver (which has already been established).  The problem is, the Obama administration could (and probably will) stymie any investigation into this by claiming executive privilege protects Geithner's emails from being examined by congress.  It is those emails that would prove Turbo-Tax Tim's complicity in this scandal. 

The AIG scandal is getting bigger and bigger, but at this point the only thing that will likely cost Geithner his job would be the potential political fallout which might cost the administration votes down the road.