Hank Paulson could not keep his story straight during his nonstop dissembling session before Congress. When asked why the government did not step in to avert a Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, Paulson said, “We were unable to find any buyer to come in and make the acquisition on an assisted basis or an unassisted basis.”
That particular whopper stood out, and was quickly corrected. “Did Bank of America request your assistance to purchase Lehman?” asked Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill.
Paulson pivoted, but kept contradicting himself. “We went to Bank America repeatedly,’ he said, “and Bank America asked each time for more assistance and we had the — we had the private sector ready to fill the gap. But Bank America in my judgment was never serious about…