Taking Back the Bonuses – er, uh, I Mean the Constitution

Posted by admin on March 22, 2009 under Civil Rights - An Ironic View | Be the First to Comment

I don’t pretend to be a genius on the Constitution, so let’s make that clear right of the top.  I am not happy about the bonuses paid at AIG. And we KNOW that Geithner and Dodd both lied about knowing that these bonuses were in the pipeline. But I am still not clear if taking them back is pushing the envelope of Constitutionality. Most of the expert opinions I have seen seem to indicate it clearly pushes that envelope.

But I was shocked as one scholar declared there is no issue with any of five Constitutional Clauses that might be applied in this case. Now I have had to play this interview back several times to see if I should pick my jaw up off my desk and get on with my day or not. 

When asked if the Due Process Clause applied to the issue, Bruce Fein replied:

“Absolutely not. Remember there’s a rational relationship between the tax and the facts of the case that led to the bonus, mainly, the reason why your’re taking it back is because the government’s money was what created the ability of the companies to pay the bonus. It’s rational to say since we created the ability to pay, we’re entitled to get it back.”

Think about it. Did you hear what he said? He said quite literally:

“What the government giveth, the govenrment has the Constitutional right to taketh – and without due process!”

This is a man who was associate deputy attorney general under the Reagan Administration, but was very critical of George W. Bush for – in his opinion – trouncing on civil liberties when implementing the terror surveillance program in order to protect the U.S. I don’t know if this guy has ever been a judge, but I hope he never becomes one. He would, unfortunately, be the Obama ideal.

I don’t know. It is all very worrisome to me.

Click here to see the interview.