Former Minnesota congressman Vin Weber’s name shows up in an AP story today about how Freddie Mac fended off regulation over the years with the help of an army of lobbyists.
Weber was one of those lobbyists and, while working with a large national firm, received $360,297 in 2006 from Freddy Mac, the news report said.
Weber, who served in Congress from 1981 to 1993, is now managing partner for the Washington, D.C., office of Clark & Weinstock, a consulting firm providing strategic advice to businesses interested in the policy-making process of the legislative and executive government branches.
“I’ve seen the article, and it’s pretty much correct,” Weber said today. “It doesn’t surprise me. It was all disclosed at the time. It’s not like it’s something we didn’t know.”
Freddy Mac was a client of his firm for years, he said. “We registered every year. It was all publicly disclosed. Now with the housing crisis, people are focused on the lobbying teams. And we were among them,” he said.
Freddy Mac is now under government control and, as part of the deal, has no lobbyists, Weber said.
