Its leaders got rich in the process, and they figured prominently in the 2008 collapse. These organizations have gotten a free ride for this largely because they have long been the darlings of the Democratic Party, yet another great achievement of FDR.

Look up Daniel Mudd and Franklin Raines, who ran the joint during the leadup to the banking crisis. Mudd, for example, collected an average of $10 million a year during his eight years at Fannie Mae. Raines made $20 million in 2003 alone.

These organizations should never have existed in the first place. They bought up vast numbers of mortages by offering interest rates only possible by the implied taxpayer underwriting of their companies. When the shit hit the fan, most mortgages in the U.S. were backed by them. Now they are in "business as usual" mode, while being heavily subsidized by still more taxpayer money.

Not sure why all of a sudden the media has decided to pay attention. Most of us have been screaming about these organizations for a long time.