Posted by Tina
I guess I shouldnt be jumping up and down pointing my finger so much but when the storys finally makin headlines, whats a girl to do? It seems the head honchos over at Fannie and Fred’s have not only been giving in to BIG temptation but have also been under all kinds of pressure from another BIG player:
Freddie, Fannie Funded Jesse Jacksons Pet Projects CNSNews
(CNSNews.com) – Mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have come under fire for making contributions to programs headed by the Rev. Jesse Jackson at a time when their own survival is at stake. ** The NLPC (National Legal and Policy Center) says the management teams of both companies made sizeable contributions to the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund Annual Conference, Jacksons main fundraising event of the year. The conference took place June 28 through July 2 in Chicago. ** According to the conference programFreddie Mac, as a Platinum Sponsor, paid $150,000. Fannie Mae paid $100,000 to be listed as a Diamond Sponsor. ** The NLPC noted that the contributions came at a time when the value of the companies shares had declined by approximately 85 percent.
The NLPC has criticized the companies for funding Jacksons projects since 1998, the first year that Freddie Mac contributed. Flaherty (President of NLPC) said the contributions came after Jackson accused Freddie Mac of racial discrimination and encouraged major shareholders to sell stock in the company. ** Freddie Mac began financial support for Jacksons organizations, and his criticism of Freddie Mac stopped, the NCLP said. ** After Freddie Mac signed a $1 million contract for Rainbow/PUSH to run an Economic Literacy program, Jacksons nonprofit coalition turned around and charged churches $1,000 to enroll in the program, the NCLP said. ** Freddie Mac also pledged to earmark $1 billion in mortgage loans specifically for minorities. ** In 2003, an independent report commissioned by the Freddie Mac board criticized the companys accounting practices, singling out 13 improper transactions involving Ron Blaylock, Jesse Jacksons longtime financial backer. According to the report, Blaylock received fees of $250,000 for making some phone calls. ** The NLCP also criticized what it called the incredibly generous golden parachute that Fannie Mae provided to fired CEO Franklin Raines in 2004. Raines was accused of manipulating the companys earnings over a six-year period to meet earnings targets and receive hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses. ** The unfortunate thing about these [government-sponsored enterprises] is that theyve provided good jobs for underemployed politicians and theyve been slush funds for liberal groups. And the Jesse Jackson gifts, as the companies are melting down, is a dramatic example of that, Flaherty said. ** Freddie Mac and the Freddie Mac Foundation have invested over $348 million in the Washington area since 1991. ** Over the past five years, Fannie Mae and its foundation have contributed over $100 million to organizations and initiatives in Washington, D.C.
I just thought you should know.