AIG Was Bailed Out Because They Insured Congressional Pensions-Fiction!

AIG Was Bailed Out Because They Insured Congressional Pensions-Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor:
A forwarded email that says that American International Group Inc. (AIG), got a congressional bailout because congressional and federal pensions were insured by them.

The Truth:
A spokesperson for American International Group Inc (AIG), the largest insurance company in the United States, told truthorfiction.com that this is a hoax. The truth is that AIG was bailed out because they are federally insured and close to $85 billion was "brokered by the Federal Reserve with the backing of the Treasury Department."

Also, Congressional and federal worker pensions trust funds are not covered by AIG.

The troubled insurance company had been reporting losses in 2008 which resulted in federal intervention to prevent the institution from bankruptcy.

Fox Business reported on March 2, 2009 that AIG is expected to receive an additional "$30 billion from the government as part of a restructured bailout."

updated 03/11/09

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

This sounds almost too logical.............why hasn't it gotten national press coverage?

Remember when this economic crisis hit, and Congress let Bear Sterns go under, pushed a bunch of forced marriages between banks, etc.?

Then they bailed out AIG. At the time, I thought: "That's strange.

What does an insurance company have to do with this crisis?"

I think I just found the answer.

Among other things, AIG INSURES THE PENSION TRUST OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS!!

No wonder they got bailed out right away! To hell with the people, let's protect our
future, said all our Senators and Congressmen.

Nice to see where their loyalties lie! (I'm from the government and I'm here to help myself !)