Franklin Raines responds to WSJ op-ed questioning Fannie Mae's risk levels

Shame on you. The Wall Street Journal, of all publications, has the opportunity and responsibility to provide leadership and shed light on the Enron debacle. At the very least, markets jittery about Enron need calm, trustworthy, responsible voices to clarify complex issues, get the facts, get them right, and put them in the proper context.

Unfortunately, in your Feb. 20 editorial about Fannie Mae, you only fan fears with your glib, disingenuous, contorted, even irresponsible attempt to tar our company with the Enron brush. At best, the editorial betrays a complete lack of knowledge or understanding about our business. At worst, you chose the thrill of a good smear job over the hard work of reporting or writing opinion pieces grounded in facts.

~ Franklin D. Raines, CEO, Fannie Mae, "Don't Tar Us With an Enron Brush," The Wall Street Journal, February 25, 2002