Hank Greenberg: I Could Have Fought for AIG But Spitzer Forced Me Out

Former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg is appealing a federal judge’s decision to not award himself and 275,000 shareholders any of the $40 billion in damages they were seeking in the AIG case, even though the judge ruled the bailout was illegal.

“I think that there is no question that the Fed did not have authority under the law to take equity in the company. They lent money to virtually everybody… AIG was used as a back-door bailout,” he said.

Greenberg told FOX Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo that the government was out of reach and “took powers which they didn’t have.”

Bartiromo asked Greenberg if he thought things may have turned out differently for AIG and its shareholders, had he remained at the helm.

“Well there’s no question about it – I was forced out … [Eliot Spitzer] certainly forced me out… He frightened the board—then the board collapsed,” he said.