Geithner: I Take Full Responsibility

Treasury chief Tim Geithner said today that he asked Chris Dodd to add a stimulus loophole allowing AIG to dole out bonuses. Geithner told CNN he felt he had no choice because the government would have been vulnerable to lawsuits if it tried to stop them. "But we also worked with (Dodd) to strengthen the overall framework, and his bill has this very important provision we're relying on now to go back and see if we can recoup payments that were made that there was no legal ability to block."

Geithner's been under heavy criticism for allowing the bonuses under his watch. "You know, it's my responsibility," he said. "I was in a position where I didn't know about those sooner, I take full responsibility for that." He again maintained that he didn't learn of "the full scale" of the bonuses until March 10. The interview airs tonight on Campbell Brown's show.
(More Timothy Geithner stories.)