Posted by Tina
If you have been curious about the Fannie and Freddie mess you should take a look at the article by Elizabeth MacDonald over at FOX Business News. She is reporting today on the enormous legal bills that taxpayers are stuck paying to defend former executives accused of securities and accounting fraud at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:
It’s a really bad deal for taxpayers that a federal watchdog is suggesting that the government only “limit,” but not stop, the exorbitant legal fees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now paying on behalf of former executives who are accused of either securities or accounting fraud, and who drove these companies into the ground.
Both have paid nearly $100 million in legal fees to defend former executives, who have been named along with Freddie and Fannie, as defendants in a string of lawsuits seeking billions of dollars in damages alleging securities fraud for Freddie, and accounting and securities fraud for Fannie.A third of those legal fees came after the government seized Fannie and Freddie.
They cooked books for personal financial gain. They arranged special deals for buddies in the business. This is a long detailed article that sheds light on the shenanigans that went on in these two institutions. MacDonald has done her homework!
Yes, I would have to agree that, considering the degree to which Fannie and Freddie executives cycled from private bank to public sector and back again, … well, if they haven’t banked themselves a contingency account … screw ’em.
We shouldn’t be paying for any of this.
I agree with Libby, we shouldn’t be stuck with their lawyer bills. It’s just insult upon injury.
This is just the tip of the ice berg. The Obama Department of Justice is an epic failure. They have prosecuted none of these banking criminals who looted our country and they are prosecuting whistleblowers more than any other administration. All while going overseas and bragging about our “freedoms” in America.
The Obama DOJ is using the Espionage Act to prosecute CIA agents who have the courage to speak out. Before Obama this act had only been used 3 times in history. Obama has not even been in office for 4 full years, guess how many times his DOJ has used the Espionage Act? SIX.
Jake Tapper from ABC news just nailed that waste of skin Jay Carney over it. I’m sure Tapper will lose his front seat in the White House Press Corps any time over this.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/the-wh-loves-aggressive-journalism-abroad-todays-qs-for-os-wh-2222012/
Princess, thats a great find. I agree the Dept. of Justice has been anything but. Suing states instead of enforcing the law, prosecuting whistle blowers, etc. What a mess. You know this is coming up in the election.
Libby most of the criminals in Fannie are recycled Clinton administration democrats that made bick bucks on his expansion of the Carter law to force loans to minorities. the law makes prosecution difficult…they were doing exactly what the law allowed (except for the cooking the books part)
Tina, someday they’ll find a cure.