McKinley v. Federal Housing Finance Agency (No. 10-1165) – documents regarding the decision to place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into “conservatorship”

Last Updated: December 15, 2011

Synopsis

On September 7, 2008, in a joint press conference with former FHFA Director Jim Lockhart, then-Treasury Secretary Henry “Hank” Paulson announced that after examining “all options available,” Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed under “conservatorship” by the federal government.In an attempt to bring to light the information that led to this decision, Mr. McKinley filed a FOIA request on May 23, 2010, for:

“[A]ny and all communications and records concerning or relating to the assessment of an adverse impact on systemic risk in addressing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and in particular how the FHFA and the Department of the Treasury determined that conservatorship was the preferred option to avoid any systemic risk of placing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into receivership.” 

The FHFA acknowledged receipt of the request on May 26, 2010, but has failed to produce any documents or demonstrate why documents should be withheld. The agency was required by law to respond by June 28, 2010, but has failed to indicate when a response is forthcoming.