Lawrence Cunningham, a law professor at George Washington University, says no. Lawrence Tribe says no. And you almost want to dare an angry AIG executive to bring suit. It's really worth distinguishing what are two separate arguments. The first is that we can't claw back the bonuses. That's what outside counsel told AIG Chairman Edward Liddy (Liddy was appointed by the government in 2008 and will not receive any bonuses) but legal experts don't think it's true. If the government is sufficiently interested in pulling back the funds, it can do so. The second is that we shouldn't claw back the bonuses. That's what's animating Liddy's argument that "we cannot attract or retain the best and brightest talent" if the government is mucking with their compensation packages.
