Is the bill to rescind AIG bonuses a bill of attainder?
Senator Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, predicted Congress’s efforts to rescind American International Group Inc.’s bonuses through higher taxes would be thrown out by the courts. He said the legislation before lawmakers violates the constitutional ban on bills of attainder, which restricts lawmakers’ ability to punish individual Americans.
“It’s basically targeted on a small group of people, which is technically a bill of attainder,” Gregg said.
See also: Wikipedia on “Bill of attainder”.