""One of AIG's largest Financial Products offices is located in Dodd's home state of Connecticut. President Obama runs a close second to Dodd having received $101,332 in campaign contributions from AIG, according to OpenSecrets.org. As confusing as that appears on the surface, the picture comes more into focus when you note that Dodd is the single recipient of the largest amount of campaign cash from AIG in the 2008 election cycle having received $103,100 in contributions

Suddenly desiring to shun the klieg lights, Dodd told a Fox News reporter off camera that he did not put that language into his own amendment, it must have happened later in conference. Yet a contemporaneous report from Politico in February reports on the Dodd amendment passage and specifically notes the exemption Dodd claims he didn't know was in his own amendment:

"The new rules, introduced by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) mark one of the major concessions Obama made in the last days of wrangling over the stimulus package he is expected to sign into law on Tuesday in Denver. … Additionally, the rules in the stimulus bill apply not only to companies that receive bailout funds in the future, but also to those that have received TARP money in the past -- although executive bonuses doled out in contracts signed before February 11 would not be impacted."

Not a peep from Dodd or his staff at the time objecting to or asking for a retraction for any of the amendment language or information in this high-profile, cap on executive legislation story.

Further, any sort of suggestion that this was done without the knowledge of Democrat leadership or the White House is belied by that news story. No Republicans were allowed to participate in earnest in the "conference" process for the "stimulus" bill. The entire process was secreted by Democrat leadership and the White House, paraded before cameras with the House Republicans sitting at the "conference" table for a photo-op, and followed by Speaker Pelosi shoving it through the full House for a majority vote. No Republicans voted in favor of the legislation. None other than Democrat leadership had been given the time to actually read the bill -- not Republicans, not the public. The Democrats own this scandal outright."