It’s going to be a circus today when charges fly about the level of pay some CEOs got during the subprime mortgage crisis.

In a memo, that was perhaps preceded by a TPS report, committee Democrats blasted Countrywide Financial Corp., Merrill Lynch, and Citigroup for awarding their CEOs massive compensation packages even as their companies lost about $20 billion in the second half of 2007 due to investments in subprime and other risky mortgages.

The memo, clearly written by an intern with minimal writing experience, whined about why these CEOs were paid so much during such awful times – as if not paying them would’ve fixed the entire problem.

Republicans, including Government Oversight ranking member Tommy Davis, claim this is nothing more than a “CEO witch hunt.” [Oh, the drama]

Davis explains:

“The CEOs in question already have lost their jobs over the companies’ performances. And even if they’d all worked for minimum wage — or even for free — we’d be right where we are today in terms of the mortgage crisis.”

One executive mysteriously left off of Government Reform Chairman Waxman’s hit list, is former Clinton Treasurer and current Citigroup head, Robert Rubin.

Rubin, who helps head the firm with the most write downs [$20 billion], has not been called to testify in front of the committee.

Time will tell as to whether Waxman begins to “hunt” down his friends, or continues gives them a pass.