Two noteworthy items for today.
First, the NY Times continues to report progress at the trial. Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner continues on the stand, being examined and cross-examined. Not much new there — these folks are concentrating on the “fairness vs. unfairness” of AIG’s treatment by the feds. At least as far as the press coverage goes, nobody is focusing in on the eminent domain law aspects of this controversy. Which is to say that if the AIG bailout produced benefits, that only justifies the taking, if the court agrees with Starr’s contention that there was one. No one seems to mention that eminent domain takings are supposed to produce benefits, so for the government to say that its bailout of AIG saved the financial world is to say no more than What SCOTUS said at the turn of the 20th century. Also, it’s black letter law that the government may use its taking power without due process ( that’s what SCOTUS said in the Dow case). So for the feds to defend on those grounds is not a defense, but only a justification for the taking of 80% of AIG’s stock. See Aaron M. Kessler, Geithner Testifies That Government Had Right to Act to Avert A.I.G. Bankruptcy, NY Times, Oct 9, 2014, at p. B4.
Second, if you don’t feel like wading through this controversy on a piecemeal basis, and want a concise summary of it, see Dean Starkman, Trial Revisits Financial Crisis, LA Times, Oct. 9, 2014, at p. B1. Go to http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-aig-trial-20141009-story.html
CAVEAT: Other than occasional mention of the subject of takings, none of the press coverage that we have seen analyzes the plaintiffs’ legal taking theory, or the measure of compensation that would be payable if the plaintiffs prevail on liability. See https://gideonstrumpet.info/?p=7020