Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis heads to Capitol Hill on Thursday, and he’s likely to be grilled by lawmakers about the government’s role in ensuring that the bank complete its controversial merger with Merrill Lynch.

According to emails released Wednesday that pull back the curtain on heated negotiations, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke had suggested to another Fed official that “management is gone,” if BofA managers tried to flee the deal and later on needed further government assistance.

He is expected to be asked specifically about whether the Federal Reserve and other government officials pressured Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) into completing the merger even after BofA realized how badly Merrill Lynch’s fourth-quarter losses would be.

(source: cnnmoney.com)

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