Financial Crisis

Spitzer: Quit Hiding AIG's Email

Former prosecutors want "open-source" investigation.

The government should force AIG to release emails and other important communications, allowing for an "open-source" investigation, former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer writes in The New York Times Sunday. Spitzer, along with two other former prosecutors, says that such a move would help answer how exactly the insurance giant became so desperate that it required a $180 billion bailout. "Once the documents are available for everyone to inspect, a thousand journalistic flowers can bloom, as reporters, victims, and angry citizens have a chance to piece together the story," they write. They hope such a document dump would help prevent a future repeat of the financial disaster.