Obama Transition Member Oversaw Fannie's Lobbying

November 17, 2008— -- One of Obama's top transition team members, Thomas Donilon, oversaw an aggressive, backdoor lobbying campaign by mortgage giant Fannie Mae to undermine the credibility of a probe into the firm's accounting irregularities, according to a 2006 government report on the company.

The effort -- which reportedly included attacks on the funding for the oversight agency, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, and an attempt to launch a separate investigation into OFHEO itself -- was ultimately unsuccessful, and regulators eventually discovered top Fannie Mae executives had been manipulating the company's financial reporting to maximize their bonuses.

Facing accusations of misstating its earnings from 1998 to 2004, Fannie Mae settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission for $400 million in 2006, although it did not admit any wrongdoing.

Obama transition advisor and ex-Fannie Mae executive Donilon has not been accused of participating in the accounting irregularities. But he did oversee its lobbying, and helped paint a rosy picture of Fannie's financial health to the company's board, OFHEO investigators concluded, a picture that was ultimately proven false.

Donilon declined to comment for this article.

President-elect Obama has pledged to change the culture of coziness between officials, lobbyists and lawmakers in Washington. But the role of Donilon in the Fannie Mae scandal raises questions about just how much of a break the Obama administration will be from business as usual inside the Beltway.

When asked about Donilon's place in the Obama transition team, Obama spokesperson Tommy Vietor said in a statement that "Mr. Donilon is volunteering his time and more than 30 years of accomplishment to help prepare the State Department for an efficient transition to the President-elect, who is taking office at a time of war and when we are confronting a complex and challenging international environment. Mr. Donilon's experience in foreign affairs as Assistant Secretary of State and Chief of Staff at the State Department is critical to this review process."