Controversy is swirling again over whether American International Group used some of the bailout money it received from Congress to entertain and conduct seminars for financial advisors that sell its insurance products.

In a CNBC report this morning Congressman Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-MD is alleging that AIG used some of the bailout money to pay for lavish parties. Check out the video:AIG Party Accusations.

The meeting in Phoenix has led some members of Congress to call for Liddy’s resignation, according to CNBC. In the video, Cummings says he received a letter dated Oct. 30th from AIG executive Edward Liddy that “not one dime of hard-earned taxpayer money would be used to pay” for these events.

But in the CNBC newscast, Liddy tells viewers that companies need to have meetings and that tens of thousands of independent financial advisors and insurance brokers sell their products. He says that AIG’s sponsors and partners paid for 90 percent of the cost, but he did not name these companies. About $25,000 of taxpayer money was used to pay for the seminars, according to the report.

One defender of AIG, Doug Dachille of First Principles Management, contends that cash is fungible and that it’s hard to “cherry pick” where it goes, whether that’s to marketing or compensation. Even the CNBC anchor repeatedly defends AIG, saying, do you ever want them to sell another insurance product again? The anchor explains that AIG has to conduct seminars with these independent financial advisors since they have many other insurance companies products to sell.

But Congressman Cummings doesn’t buy that line. Cummings points out that Liddy has cancelled 160 of these types of conferences since he complained about it and that cherry picking is possible. Cummings says he has to answer to his constituents who are losing their jobs and homes.

Meanwhile in case you need a refresher course on AIG’s parties, here’s a story from October 7th from the Chicago Tribune, See "AIG, Party On!" That was when AIG spent $440,000 on a weekend bash to reward top performers at a resort just days after the company accepted the original $85 billion bailout package from US taxpayers. In other words, AIG lost its creditability over those excesses, so even if the seminars are legitimate expenditures for competing in business, those outside the financial services industry couldn't care less.