So far with the economic and banking fiasco in America, Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson haven’t given much more than a slap on the wrist, while Bernanke was voted on to continue with his policies at the Federal Reserve which have done so much to damage the nation. Now that Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) CEO Ken Lewis may be willing to fight the civil lawsuit brought by political opportunist New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo concerning the acquisition of Merrill Lynch, that may be about to change.

It’s surprising how little Bernanke and Paulson have really been pursued concerning their role in the Merrill Lynch deal, which has been highly suspect almost from the beginning.

Recently someone alleged to be close to the defense team of Ken Lewis stated if it ends up going to trial, you can be sure Bernanke and Paulson will be included on the witness list. We can only hope Lewis sticks to his guns and forces the issue. It would be good to see Bernanke and Paulson under oath when describing their part in all of this.

The case Cuomo has brought against Lewis is about how much he knew about the condition of Merrill Lynch before shareholders voted on it. Cuomo asserts Lewis mislead the government, while lead attorney for Lewis, U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, will show that Bernanke and Paulson knew exactly what was going on as the deal proceeded.

Of course the problem for Bernanke and Paulson is why they allowed it to continue forward if that was the case. This is the issue that has largely been swept under the rug over the last year. It’s quite possible the two could be found to have broken the law themselves; the reason it seems it has for the most part been left alone.

The first goal for White will be to have Bernanke and Paulson testify to the fact Lewis didn’t mislead them in any way and they had a full understanding of what was involved with taking over Merrill Lynch.

A second issue being pursued against Lewis is whether he actually told Bernanke and Paulson he wouldn’t bail out Merrill Lynch unless the government gave them billions in assistance. This is the crux of the matter and what will determine where things will go from there.

Either Lewis made the statement or he didn’t. If he didn’t that means the assertions by Lewis in the past about it being Bernanke and Paulson who were pressuring the deal to go forward or he and other key executives and Bank of America would be fired may be true. If so, what would happen to the two if that’s the case? This is what is at stake in the Ken Lewis case, and why it really needs to go to trial to bring it out. Hopefully it will go to trial.

The odds are against it, as it looks like White will seek to get the charges against Lewis dismissed, which of course would leave the questions concerning the roles of all parties in the matter left up in the air, with the truth of what really happened never discovered.