They shouldn't be "exploring" this; they should be forced to. Taxpayer dollars shouldn't be spent on this crap.
A contract is a contract. Absent a clause therein, it's not voided when a company gets a new shareholder, especially a minority shareholder. That the shareholder is the government is irrelevant.
Well, lets see.
If the government had not used taxpayer money to rescue Citi, it would have been bankrupt, and bankruptcy would probably have voided the contract.
So, the taxpayer shouldn't be held liable.