He denied that the Fed inappropriately persuaded Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis to continue with the deal, despite Lewis' concern about Merrill's condition.

Lewis had told Bank of America's board that federal officials said if he did not go through with the transaction, "the Treasury and the Fed would remove the Board and management of the Corporation," according to a transcript of that meeting.

The committee has released hundreds of pages of documents that it subpoenaed from the Federal Reserve, which has shined a spotlight on the internal deliberations that took place during the time the deal was being negotiated.

Towns and Kucinich, both Democrats, also said they want Paulson to answer whether the government had any role in persuading Bank of America to acquire Merrill Lynch.

Republicans on the committee have accused regulators of strong-arming Bank of America to complete the Merrill acquisition,

while Democrats have often focused on whether Bank of America should have told investors sooner about Merrill’s financial troubles.

Did Henry Paulson “muscle” Ken Lewis to complete Merrill deal and, if so, did he break any laws?