Gawfer

When we hear of ethics violations from the left its more along the lines of $100,000 cold, hard cash in the freezer, 100k-250k IPO in clean energy owned by the Speaker of the House who blocked votes on off shore drilling, or the collapse of the American financial market because a trusted law maker was in bed (literally) with the assistant director of product initiatives?

Further, why was there more coverage of the Idaho congressman’s solicitation than OJ Simpson Murder trial, while this story has mostly gone unnoticed? Do you think the media considers blows (no pun intended) like this would be detrimental to the Obama Campaign?

Lawmaker Accused of Fannie Mae Conflict of Interest

WASHINGTON —  Unqualified home buyers were not the only ones who benefitted from Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank’s efforts to deregulate Fannie Mae throughout the 1990s.

So did Frank’s partner, a Fannie Mae executive at the forefront of the agency’s push to relax lending restrictions.

Now that Fannie Mae is at the epicenter of a financial meltdown that threatens the U.S. economy, some are raising new questions about Frank’s relationship with Herb Moses, who was Fannie’s assistant director for product initiatives. Moses worked at the government-sponsored enterprise from 1991 to 1998, while Frank was on the House Banking Committee, which had jurisdiction over Fannie.

Both Frank and Moses assured the Wall Street Journal in 1992 that they took pains to avoid any conflicts of interest. Critics, however, remain skeptical.

“It’s absolutely a conflict,” said Dan Gainor, vice president of the Business & Media Institute. “He was voting on Fannie Mae at a time when he was involved with a Fannie Mae executive. How is that not germane?

“If this had been his ex-wife and he was Republican, I would bet every penny I have - or at least what’s not in the stock market - that this would be considered germane,” added Gainor, a T. Boone Pickens Fellow. “But everybody wants to avoid it because he’s gay. It’s the quintessential double standard.”

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