The Obama administration's decision to cover an unlimited amount of losses at the mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the next three years stirred controversy over the holiday.
The Treasury announced Thursday it was removing the caps that limited the amount of available capital to the companies to $200 billion each.
Unlimited access to bailout funds through 2012 was "necessary for preserving the continued strength and stability of the mortgage market," the Treasury said. Fannie and Freddie purchase or guarantee most U.S. home mortgages and have run up huge losses stemming from the worst wave of defaults since the 1930s.
"The timing of this executive order giving Fannie and Freddie a blank check is no coincidence," said Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee. He said the Christmas Eve announcement was designed "to prevent the general public from taking note."
December 23, 2009
Attorney General of the United States of America
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Dear Attorney General Holder:
We write to demand an immediate investigation into the activities of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. We believe there is an abundant public record which establishes that the actions of the White House have blocked any investigation into his activities while on the board of Freddie Mac from 2000-2001, and facilitated the cover up of potential malfeasance until the 10-year statute of limitations has run out.
The purpose of this letter is to connect the dots to establish both the conduct of Mr. Emanuel and those working with him to thwart inquiry, and to support your acting speedily so that the statute of limitations does not run out before the Justice Department is able to empanel a grand jury.
The New York Times reports that the administration is negotiating to double the commitments to Fannie and Freddie for a total of $800 billion by December 31, in order to avoid the congressional approval that would be needed after that date. But there currently is no Inspector General exercising independent oversight of these entities. Acting Inspector General Ed Kelly was stripped of his authority earlier this year by the Justice Department, relying on a loophole in a bill Mr. Emanuel cosponsored and pushed through Congress shortly before he left for the White House. This effectively ended Mr. Kelly’s investigation into what happened at Fannie and Freddie.
Since that time, despite multiple warnings by Congress that having no independent Inspector General for a federal agency that oversees $6 trillion in mortgages is a serious oversight, the White House has not appointed one.
We recognize that these are extremely serious accusations, but the stonewalling by Mr. Emanuel and the White House has left us with no other redress.
I read something interesting about mortgage defaults today. 18% or so are walkaways, people that can afford their payments, but they've decided that the house is no longer a good investment. Lord Zero and the Dems are doing everything they can to punish banks and credit card companies, maybe they need to do something to protect the mortgage lenders from these scam artists.
Won't happen - those walk-aways are all Democratic voters - the pansy-assed liberal doctors and lawyers and professors who all have their own real homes, and decided it would be a lark to try and be the next Donald Trump by becoming a real-estate investor - remember all of those late-night infomercials they used to run about how to become a millionaire in real estate with no money down? We're now seeing the consequences of that.
Won't happen - those walk-aways are all Democratic voters - the pansy-assed liberal doctors and lawyers and professors who all have their own real homes, and decided it would be a lark to try and be the next Donald Trump by becoming a real-estate investor - remember all of those late-night infomercials they used to run about how to become a millionaire in real estate with no money down? We're now seeing the consequences of that.
So what do you guys think of Emmanuel's dirty deals and Hamsher's call for his head on a pike?
Emmanuel is dirty....and Hamsher can call for his head on a pike all he wants...but it ain't gonna happen.Ah yes, but even if people can't remember the outrage they remember being outraged and liberals are--if nothing else--emotionally driven.
Emmanuel is way too close to Obama...
Emmanuel is dirty....and Hamsher can call for his head on a pike all he wants...but it ain't gonna happen.
Emmanuel is way too close to Obama...
Here are the numbers: Oliver Wyman, a consulting firm to financial institutions, working with credit raters Experian estimate that 16 percent of today’s foreclosures are “strategic,†where borrowers keep paying their other debts, and selectively stiff the bank. That’s up from three percent five years ago. At Northwestern University, scholars estimate that one in four foreclosures is by choice.moneywatch (http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/blog/macro-view/if-you-were-upside-down-would-you-walk-away-from-your-home/1381/)
And the walkaways are concentrated in a few states: California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Hawaii.
Deb, I was wrong, it was 16 or 17%.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121907594&surl=http://www.mpbn.net/&f=module-nprnews
moneywatch (http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/blog/macro-view/if-you-were-upside-down-would-you-walk-away-from-your-home/1381/)
So what do you guys think of Emmanuel's dirty deals and Hamsher's call for his head on a pike?