Freddie to Pay Record FEC Fine

Freddie Mac has agreed to pay a record $3.8 million civil penalty to the Federal Elections Commission, settling allegations that it used corporate resources to raise $1.7 million for mostly Republican candidates between 2000 and 2003.According to the FEC, some 85 fundraisers were orchestrated by former senior vice president of government affairs Mitchell Delk, who reported the events to Freddie Mac's board as "political risk management" events. The fundraisers, benefiting members of the House Financial Services Committee and others, were held at the Galileo Restaurant in Washington, D.C. The government-sponsored enterprise paid consulting firms to plan and organize the fundraising dinners. Additionally, the FEC says Freddie Mac executives "used corporate staff and resources to solicit and forward contributions from company employees" to federal candidates. Mr. Delk, who could not be reached for comment by MortgageWire's deadline, resigned from the congressionally chartered mortgage giant in March 2004. As part of the settlement Freddie Mac agreed to a cease-and-desist order. The FEC said it will send admonishment letters but will take no further action against Mr. Delk, former Freddie chairman and chief executive Leland Brendsel, and others. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.