Treasury Dept. Sued for TARP Details

The Hill reports today that a legal group is suing the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve to reveal exactly how the first $350 billion of the financial services bailout was spent.

Larry Klayman and his organization, Freedom Watch, said they're concerned money from the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) was given to investment firms on the basis of the banks' political influence. The group noted that that jobs have been lost and that stock prices haven't recovered since the bailout.

[. . .]

Klayman said he filed a lawsuit because the government hasn't responded to a request filed in December under the Freedom of Information Act.

"What Freedom Watch and our constituents would like to know is where that $350 billion disappeared to and how it was determined who would get what share, so that these individuals and companies can be held accountable and so that that there is some visibility in the system that is supposed to be acting for the American people, not against them," said Klayman in a statement.

The first $350 billion of TARP was largely spent by the Bush administration to recapitalize ailing banks. Firms that received bailout money have refused to say exactly where they spent the federal funds.

Freedom Watch also said it will file a lawsuit to press the Obama administration to detail how it will spend the remaining $350 billion in TARP money.

The Treasury Department hasn't responded to a questions about the lawsuit.

Freedom Watch isn't connected to the defunct right-leaning Freedom's Watch, which ran ads against Democratic congressional candidates before last year's election.

Source.

Freedom Watch Web site.