Geithner Ignored Obama Order to Dissolve Citigroup

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, 02/11/11. (photo: Getty Images)

By Justin Sink, The Hill
16 September 11

A new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Suskind reveals that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner ignored a direct order from President Obama for the reconstruction of major banks during the financial crisis. The reports call into question the president's leadership and financial savvy at a time when the president is most vulnerable on those topics, with poll numbers on his handling of the economy hitting record lows. According to reports Friday, Geithner ignored a March 2009 order that asked the Treasury Department to consider dissolving Citigroup, one of the nation's largest financial services companies. Citigroup was among the worst hit by the financial crisis in 2008, and needed billions in bailout money to stay afloat. Many have criticized the Obama administration - and Geithner, the former president of the New York Federal Reserve, specifically - of being too focused on helping the banking industry after the recession. Critics on both the left and right argue that the government should not have bailed out banks that submarined the economy after issuing bad mortgages. READ MORE