Politics | Timothy Geithner Obama: $18B in Wall Street Bonuses 'Shameful' President says he, Geithner will press executives on issue By Nick McMaster Posted Jan 29, 2009 3:43 PM CST Copied President Barack Obama, center, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, left, and Vice President Joe Biden meet in the Oval Office today. (AP Photo) President Obama denounced huge bonuses to Wall Street executives as “the height of irresponsibility” given the country’s economic hardship, the AP reports. Responding to news that financial firms paid out $18 billion in bonuses last year, Obama described the firms’ actions as “shameful” and vowed that he and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will meet with Wall Street CEOs to make the point in person. Read These Next North Carolina shooting suspect once walked the red carpet. The gunman who killed 4 at a Michigan church was an ex-marine. 'We heard a big bang,' says churchgoer in Michigan Skydivers leap from plane 2 minutes before fatal crash. Report an error