It's interesting to me to see how Congress continues to try to exercise control over companies receiving bailout money, particularly when it comes to lobbying because it provides a window into the practice of influence peddling. Here's an interesting story on that topic:

Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is looking into whether American International Group used any of its $182.5 billion in federal bailout money to fund a negative media campaign against its former CEO and chief critic, Hank Greenberg.

According to a letter obtained by Talking Points Memo, Towns asked AIG's current CEO Edward Liddy to provide him with records from its public relations firms Burson-Marstellar and Hill & Knowlton to determine if taxpayer money was used to fund the campaign.

"The Committee was surprised to hear allegations that AIG was contacting the news media and others to attack Mr. Greenberg's credibility," Towns wrote. "I'd be extremely disappointed to learn that any of the billions of taxpayer dollars invested to support AIG may have been diverted to finance a public relations against critics of the AIG bailout."

                                                                                                 --Bara Vaida