NO: Auto Bailout Left Public In The Dark.

U.S. taxpayers are unlikely to recover their $81 billion investment in General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC and were “left in the dark” on specifics of a decision to aid automakers, a congressional panel said.

The U.S. Treasury Department should consider placing its GM and Chrysler ownership stakes into an independent trust to prevent “political pressure and government interference,” the Congressional Oversight Panel said in a report yesterday.

“Even if no direct conflict exists, a trust could prevent the use or appearance of political influence in the government’s ownership,” the panel concluded.

Good idea, but I doubt there will be much enthusiasm for avoiding political influence, since to many in Washington that’s not a bug, but a feature . . . .