GM's ads featured Whitacre touting that fact that GM "repaid our government loan in full, with interest, five years ahead of the original schedule."
At issue is the fact that GM received $50 billion in U.S. government bailout funds -- but about $43 billion of those were swapped by the government in exchange for a 61 percent majority stake in GM.
GM had $17.4 billion of those funds in escrow -- and GM tapped unused funds from that account to repay the taxpayers for the loan portion. But it won't be clear for years whether taxpayers will be completely repaid until the government sells all of its shares in the company.
Issa argues that GM could even face lawsuits if people purchased a GM based on the advertisements.
"The American people, as the majority shareholders of GM, have a right to know the truth behind the cost of the GM bailout and GM's genuine financial condition," Issa wrote. "GM's false advertisements are counterproductive and shameful.
But another critic of GM, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, acknowledged in a speech on the Senate floor yesterday that the GM advertisements and Treasury statements were "technically correct."
The White House has touted GM's repayment as a sign of progress.
The Treasury Department said in a letter yesterday that they repayment was a positive step -- and denied it misled anyone.
Can a brother get a non recourse debt for stock Bailout loan?
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