Fannie Mae next in line to hand out questionable bonuses

Remember, FNM was taken over by federal regulators last fall and has asked for $15.2 billion in government aid. There was another company seized by federal regulators as well, Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), which received $13.8 billion. Of course, FRE has asked for an extra $31 billion, perhaps to pay the bonuses that it plans to pay -- no amounts have been disclosed yet.

That's right, two more companies that received a federal bailout are going to award bonuses to their higher ups. Speaking of bonuses, it appears that American International Group (NYSE: AIG) has seen some of its employees return their bonuses, according to CEO Edward Liddy. The embattled CEO told a House Financial Services subcommittee that he "asked those who have received retention payments in excess of $100,000 or more to return at least half of those payments. Some have already stepped up and returned," some up to 100%.

And if this wasn't enough news for you in "bonusgate," Democratic Senator Chris Dodd admitted to CNN that he added the language that allowed federal stimulus money to go for bonuses. Dodd told CNN that the administration "pushed for the language." This revelation was in direct contrast to Dodd's denial of such a move on Tuesday. A Treasury Department official corroborated the statement, saying that "administration officials were afraid the government would face numerous lawsuits without the new language."

What's a bit of public opinion compared to lawsuits ... It appears that a lot was paid to save face.