Wall Street was under siege by White House; GOP congressman wants to know why big firms bailed out failing Chicago bank

Just when officials at the politically connected community lender ShoreBank thought they were rescued from near-certain failure by a consortium of Wall Street firms, a top Republican lawmaker is investigating why the firms were so generous with their money, FOX Business has learned.

Spencer Bachus, the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, wrote President Obama this morning asking for "all records of communication - including emails, phone logs and meeting records- related to the ShoreBank negotiations that exist between the Administration and representatives of ShoreBank, and executives of the banks involved in the bailout."

The Bachus investigation could pose problems not just for the White House, but also the firm involved in the bailout, among the most prominent is Goldman Sachs (GS: 139.98, 2.57, 1.87%). As reported by FOX Business, Goldman and several large banks have agreed to pitch in about $140 million, which when combined with probable federal aid, would prevent the FDIC from taking over the troubled lender.

But people at the big banks say they received what they described as political pressure to make the contributions; Shorebank is based in Chicago, President Obama's hometown, and has been singled out by the president for praise because of its lending activities in poor communities. In addition, President Obama's senior adviser, Valerie Jarrett, has served on a Chicago civic organization with a Shorebank director.

Jarrett has denied any involvement in pressuring the banks to make the donations, but Bachus is examining why Goldman would be interested in saving a community bank in Chicago that many financial analysts believe would have failed without its political ties because of its soured business model.