The smokescreen is an often used tactic of police, SWAT teams, and the military. Let’s say you want to approach an enemy without them knowing what you’re doing. So, what do you do? You set off smoke bombs that cloud the vision of the suspects, thus allowing the other side to move closer to them, without detection.

Not all smoke bombs are physical. In fact, the tactic of using the smoke bomb approach is a favorite of the politicos. Take for example A.I.G. (NYSE AIG) Congress made a huge deal out of the A.I.G. bonuses in order to hide the larger and more important event….their bailout.

Another such smoke bomb occurred in February, to cover up the subpoena of the CEO of the Bank of America (NYSE BAC) by the Attorney General of New York state, Andrew Cumo. For some reason, this event got lost in the shuffle. In a letter to the congressional court jester Barney Frank, Attorney General Cumo noted that the inquiry of Bank of America is centered on “Merrill Lynch’s (NYSE MER) decision to secretly and prematurely award approximately $3.6 billion in bonuses, and Bank of America’s apparent complicity in it, raise serious and disturbing questions.”

Isn’t it interesting how this bonus payout slipped below the radar? Just to review: The big news - Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch; the news that slipped under the radar - the distribution of multi-million dollar bonuses.

Asked to respond to the subpoena, CEO Kenneth Lewis waffled in his response to the issues. What surfaces is this question: Did Lewis and others within Bank of America “conspire” to keep the truth about Merrill Lynch bonuses away from public knowledge? Was there prior knowledge by Bank of America as they were awaiting the multimillion dollar taxpayer bailout?

This also raises several important issues, such as: Are you and I being duped by the leadership of Bank of America? While highly questionable, morally, does the secrecy surrounding the payout of the Merrill Lynch bonuses constitute a crime? Is there a civil action that should occur?

In typical fashion, Lewis thumbed his nose at the bailout process, the attorney-general, and the Obama administrations call for corporate cutbacks. Lewis refused to provide a list of bonus payments to the New York Attorney General, and after arriving in New York in his $50 million corporate jet, Lewis refused to discuss the bonuses, even though he later commented that he had “…fully cooperated” with the AG’s office.

This whole matter has since been turned over to the fed’s, leaving one to wonder if the questions raised by the subpoena will ever be resolved. All the while, the attention of you and me is diverted by “smokescreen” tactics that are aimed at keeping us from wondering who’s in charge and why in the hell these issues are not addressed. Bank of America appears to be in the driver’s seat, taking you and I, (the taxpayers) for the ride.

A.I.G. bonuses were a smokescreen designed to keep us from raising an even more important question: When will this B.S. from Bank of America ever end?