Issa suggests Bernanke may have lied to Congress

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke might be caught in what “some people” might call a lie, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Thursday.

Issa predicted that the testimony of former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other officials before Congress would contradict Bernanke’s claims this morning that he did not threaten Bank of America to follow through with a deal to acquire Merrill Lynch in late 2008.

“When Paulson comes in in two weeks, and perhaps others, I think what we’re going to see is what some people would call a contradiction, others would call a lie, some people would call a failure to report, others would call a cover-up,” Issa told the Fox Business Network in a telephone interview.

Issa, the ranking member of the Oversight Committee, had accused Bernanke on Wednesday of orchestrating a “cover up” of details from regulators and shareholders that might have halted a BoA-Merrill deal.

“But no matter what, those definitions, once you get past the subtlety of those definitions, those are real events that should not have happened,” Issa said.

Issa also added that while Bernanke may not have made explicit threats to Bank of America, “they led to results of real threats being issued.”

“He may not remember these things, but they led to results of real threats being issued,” Issa said.

Watch the interview below: