NU Online News Service, April 17, 3:58 p.m.EDT

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., reiterated a demand thatAmerican International Group Chief Executive Edward Liddy resign inthe wake of a disclosure yesterday that Mr. Liddy has a substantialinterest in Goldman Sachs.

According to a filing with the Securities and ExchangeCommission, Mr. Liddy owns more than 18,000 shares in Goldman. AIGpaid $12.9 billion to that firm using part of $120 billion intaxpayer funds AIG used to cover credit default swaps and otherderivative obligations to Goldman and other firms.

Mr. Cummings said in a statement that he was concerned with therevelation and that it raised the question of whether Mr. Liddy wasacting in the best "interests of AIG or of his stock in Goldman…"Even the appearance of conflict of interest "is a reason foralarm," he said.

It is important, the congressman said, that people haveconfidence in what is being done with taxpayers' funds andinvestors need confidence in the markets, and because the companyhas received as much aid as it has, Congress and the Americanpeople need confidence in AIG management.

However, he said, Mr. Liddy's failure to reveal his financialinterests is undermining that confidence.

The lawmaker said he was renewing his previous call for Mr.Liddy's resignation.

Congressman Alan Grayson, D-Fla., who is a member of the HouseFinancial Services Committee, in an interview with NationalUnderwriter said at the very least Mr. Liddy should recusehimself from any decision regarding Goldman Sachs, but came up justshort of calling for his resignation.

"Given the fact that his $1 a year compensation wasdisingenuous, I would not be sorry to see him go," said Mr.Grayson.

Mr. Grayson was also critical of Mr. Liddy's failure to name thepeople responsible for AIG's dilemma in the financial productsdivision during his testimony before the committee.

"He refused to tell me the names of the people responsible forthis $100 billion-plus payout by the taxpayers, and I find thatunwillingness to answer a simple question to raise even deeperquestions about whether he is the right person for that job," saidMr. Grayson.

In an April 6 filing with the SEC, Goldman Sachs revealed thatas a previous director at Goldman Sachs Mr. Liddy received 18,244shares of restricted stock offerings worth more than $2.2 millionfor compensation for his service. He resigned the position inSeptember of last year after agreeing to take over as CEO of AIG atthe behest of then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

The General Accounting Office has told Treasury that it shouldhold payment of $30 million to AIG until the company renegotiatescontracts with employees and counterparties.

In testimony before the Senate Finance Committee, Neil Barofsky,Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, hasdisclosed that there are ongoing probes into bonus payments made byAIG.

He said his office is coordinating with the DOJ on the optionsavailable to recover bonuses paid to AIG executives involved withthe financial products unit that caused the firm's financialdistress.

He also said his agency has an audit underway that seeks todetermine the federal monitoring and enforcement of executivecompensation restrictions imposed as a condition of federalfinancial assistance to organizations such as AIG.

The federal government owns 79.9 percent of AIG in exchange forbillions of dollars in loans the company accepted in order to keepafloat as a result of its losses.