Investigation finds some Fannie Mae officials got the red carpet treatment from Countrywide

An investigation led by Darrell E. Issa (R-CA), Ranking Minority Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has uncovered a link between high ranking officials of Fannie Mae and Countrywide. The investigation has revealed documents that Countrywide established a VIP section for the purpose of granting discounted mortgages to a select list of homebuyers, many of which included Fannie Mae's account manager, lobbyist, underwriters, lawyers, a home loan manager, a sales executive and a credit risk manager. In October of 2009, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform subpoenaed Bank of America, who bought Countrywide, for more than 44,000 pages worth of documents. Within the 44,000-plus pages, it was shown that 153 "VIP borrowers" identified themselves as employees of Fannie Mae. An additional 20 borrowers listed Freddie Mac as their place of employment on the Countrywide VIP list. In a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Rep. Issa said Countrywide's loans to Fannie employees were part of an attempt to expand the company's business ties with Fannie. Some of the members of the VIP list include Daniel Mudd, former Fannie Mae vice chairmand and chief operating officer; Franklin Raines, former Fannie Mae chief executive officer; Jamie Gorelick, former Fannie Mae vice chairman and Jim Johnson, former Fannie Mae chief executive officer. View the attached letter below from Rep. Darrell E. Issa to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.