(Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has dropped a probe of American International Group Inc executives involving the credit default swaps that sent the insurer to the brink of bankruptcy and forced a huge taxpayer bailout, lawyers for the executives said on Saturday.

The investigation had centered on AIG Financial Products, which nearly brought down the giant insurer after writing tens of billions of dollars on insurance-like contracts on complex securities backed by mortgages that turned out to be toxic.

The U.S. government stepped in with a $182 billion bailout to avert a bankruptcy filing by AIG.

I'm glad we can put this behind us.

I blame the homeless.

Um...while it's hard to believe the kind of mess that unfolded could have happened without criminal wrongdoing is possible, the fact remains that it IS possible. More to the point, they just may have concluded that there is no way to prove any crimes beyond a reasonable doubt.

That is a far, far cry from giving someone a pass on committing crimes. In fact, if sufficient evidence of criminal wrongdoing should surface within the statute of limitations, criminal charge could still be filed. That is not true in a case where someone has already been pardoned (unless it is on unrelated charges).

Please, save the spin for the tabloids and Fox "News".

Your naivete is truly endearing counselor!

AIG employees kept doling out donations to politicians, including presidential candidate Barack Obama, after getting bailed out with federal funds last year, raising the question of whether those politicians will now return the money.

AIG executives gave more than $630,000 during the 2008 political cycle even as the company was falling apart

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign finance reports, more than $120,000 of that money was donated after AIG received its first $85 billion in federal bailout funds in September. The company has since received a total of $170 billion in taxpayer cash to prevent its collapse.

Their generosity included more than $23,000 to Obama's campaign.

abcnews