A group of lawyers hired by Freddie Mac (FRE) is quietly
conducting an investigation into the firm's own lobbying campaign,
an effort that helped quash proposed new regulations before the
collapse of the housing market, The Associated Press reported on
Monday.
A Washington law firm, Covington & Burling LLP, has spent
more than a month interviewing current and former Freddie Mac
executives and employees, the AP said, citing three people familiar
with the matter. Former Justice Dept prosecutor Stephen Anthony is
leading the investigation.
Previously, the AP reported that $2 million was paid to a
lobbying firm, DCI Group of Washington, to target 17 Republican
senators to defeat a 2005 bill sponsored by Sen. Check Hagel,
R-Neb., that would have forced Freddie Mac to sell hundreds of
billions from its then-lucrative mortgage and mortgage-backed
securities portfolios.
Also under review: an accounting of six-figure payments to 52
outside lobbying groups and political consultants in 2006,
including firms with links to former Sen. Al D'Amato of New York
and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia.
Freddie Mac board chairman John Koskinen confirmed that an
inquiry is under way but declined further comment.
Full story at
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5inqieurDHqfP-cj7cUwybkA_ZLlwD96H5JS80
-Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5500