“There’s Fire There”

As you know, there’s been this long-simmering question of whether federal officials forced BofA CEO Ken Lewis to complete the purchase of Merrill Lynch even after the company’s mounting losses made it clear it wasn’t a good deal on the business merits. Ben Bernanke testified earlier this week that there was no effort to do anything untoward, and that all the relevant federal regulators were on hand during the key meetings. But the House Oversight Committee has been reviewing notes of phone conversations and other government records. And a person familiar with the probe tells the Journal “there’s fire there.” They’re apparently going to call everyone back up to the Hill next month to testify on the matter under oath.