Obama's top economic advisors have ties to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AND Lehman Brothers

In an ad, the Obama campaign goes hard after John McCain for employing big-time lobbyists in high ranking positions. Obama should be careful about throwing stones.

Jim Johnson was the CEO and Vice Chairman for Fannie Mae as well as managing director at Lehman Brothers who is currently Barack Obama's economic advisor.

Franklin Raines was CEO of Fannie Mae 1999 to 2004. Mr. Raines also is currently Barack Obama's economic advisor and has not yet been forced to resign. He is accused by The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), the regulating body of Fannie Mae, of abetting widespread accounting errors, which included the shifting of losses so senior executives, such as himself, could earn large bonuses. Raines was sued for wrongdoing but was able to settle. An editorial in The Wall Street Journal called it a "paltry settlement" which allowed Raines and the other two executives to "keep the bulk of their riches." In 2003 alone, Raines's compensation was over $20 million. [ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10977075... ].


Raines *also* has ties with Countrywide. In June 2008 Wall Street Journal reported that Franklin Raines was one of several politicians who received below market rates loans at Countrywide Financial because the corporation considered the officeholders "FOA's"--"Friends of Angelo" (Countrywide Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo). He received loans for over $3 million while CEO of Fannie Mae. [ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12127997... ]

The federal takeover of mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae may stabilize the economy and help the housing industry.
But some politicians could take a hit too, most particularly Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
The money has gone to both Republicans and Democrats.
But Obama is the recipient of the 2nd largest individual money, at $111,849, according to federal campaign finance reports compiled by Times researcher Maloy Moore. The person in first place is Senator Chris Dodd this was the person getting special loans from Countrywide Home loans.