House committee asks for key AIG reports

WASHINGTON, April 2 (UPI) -- Key congressional committee members have asked federal authorities for confidential records involving U.S. insurance giant American International Group Inc.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y, and the committee's highest-ranking Republican, Darrell Issa of California, wrote the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission for records prepared by AIG attorney James Cole, Business Insurance reported Thursday.

AIG hired Cole, a partner in the Washington law firm Bryan Cave L.L.P., as part of a deferred-prosecution settlement the company agreed to in 2004.

Cole's role at AIG was to prepare reports on the company's business practices for federal authorities. In 2005, the result of a second case, his job was expanded to include monitoring AIG's financial reporting and company governance.

As such, Cole "had routine access to the highest levels of the company," the congressmen said in a letter to the Justice Department and the S.E.C.

"With taxpayers now having an 80 percent stake in AIG, we believe that review of these reports is critical," the letter said.

AIG's losses in subprime mortgage investments have led to a series of federal interventions, including a government investment of around $170 billion.