Andrew Cuomo, the New York Attorney General, campaigned recently with unusual vigor against the hazards of executive bonuses by banks that ended up on the public dole. He had a point: It just wasn't right for banks being bailed out to pay millions in executive bonuses.

So it comes as no surprise that Cuomo has subpoenaed information from John Thain, ex-CEO of Merrill Lynch, and J. Steele Alphin, chief administrative officer. Thain approved billions in bonuses as the company was about to report a $15 billion loss. The AP says the probe "will center on trying to determine why the timetable for paying the bonuses was moved up to December from its normal period in January; who knew about the bonuses; and how Merrill could justify spending billions of dollars."

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