WASHINGTON — Rep. Michele Bachmann has been a fierce critic of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, blaming the government-backed loan programs for excesses that helped create the financial meltdown in 2008.
And like millions of other home purchasers, Bachmann took out a home loan in 2008 that offered lower costs to the borrower through one of the federally subsidized programs, according to mortgage experts who reviewed her loan documents. Just a few weeks before Bachmann called for dismantling the programs during a House Financial Services Committee hearing, she and her husband signed for a $417,000 home loan to help finance their move to a 5,200- square-foot golf course home, public records show. Experts who examined the loan documents say they are confident the loan was backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty also has called for dismantling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Experts who reviewed his mortgage documents said there is no way to tell whether his home loan from 1994 had government backing.
Bachmann’s campaign declined to comment on her loan.
The Washington Post
