This is an Instapopulist to cover the press articles on the new SIGTARP, the inspector general's report on TARP, due out this morning. We will update the site when we can get our little grubby peanut gallery hands on the actual report.

In Government report questions rescue claims we discover, surprise, surprise, Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke and the FDIC all lied on the health of the 9 banks receiving funds.

But the report said that then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other officials were wrong to contend at an Oct. 14 press conference that all nine institutions receiving the first round of support — $125 billion — were sound.

"These are healthy institutions, and they have taken this step for the good of the economy," Paulson had declared at the time.

Barofsky said that the fact that Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. soon required billions in additional assistance highlighted the inaccuracy of that claim and raised questions about the whole effort. In addition, Merrill Lynch, which was also in the original nine, was in the process of being acquired by Bank of America because of its weakening financial position.

Gez...that's it, they lied? I sure hope the actual report has more meat than that. It's like chewing on a knuckle bone when we know there is a herd of cattle under that rug.