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March 15, 2010
Via Email & Mail
Mr. Jeffrey W. Kilduff
O’Melveny & Meyers LLP
1625 Eye Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
Re:
Treatment of Fannie Mae Non-Public Information
Dear Mr. Kilduff:
On behalf of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission ("the Commission"), I write
to memorialize our understanding with respect to the treatment of non-public
information provided by Fannie Mae and its affiliates ("Fannie Mae") to the
Commission and its staff.
When submitting information to the Commission please indicate what is truly
"non-public" to allow the Commission to track Fannie Mae's submissions
appropriately. Please avoid categorizing everything as non-public, as to do so
will make the Commission's work more difficult and may lead to inadvertent
public disclosure outside of the terms of this letter.
Any non-public information that is obtained from Fannie Mae will be used only
by employees and agents of the Commission who have a need to know and use
the information in the performance of their official work duties in a manner
consistent with its non-public status and applicable law. All persons with whom
non-public information is shared will be advised of and, as condition of receiving
non-public information, will agree to comply with the understanding in this letter.
In accordance with its statutory mandate and its duty to the American public, the
Commission, if it determines it is in the public interest, may release to the public
non-public information obtained from Fannie Mae as part of any interim or final
report to the President and Congress, or in connection with any public hearings, if
the Commission determines to do so by a majority vote, or by the decision of the
Chairman and Vice Chairman acting together on behalf of the Commission.
Prior to any release of non-public information under the above paragraph, the
Commission will give written notice to Fannie Mae, and allow Fannie Mae to
consult with the Commission before the Commission uses any of the Fannie
Mae’s non-public information in any interim or final report to the President and
Congress, or in any public hearing.
Nothing in this letter will prevent the Commission or its staff from complying
with a request or demand from a duly authorized Committee of the
United States Congress with authority to require and receive the non-public information, or a
legally valid and enforceable subpoena or order by a court of competent jurisdiction for the nonpublic information or testimony related thereto.
Finally, all information obtained from Fannie Mae or relating to Fannie Mae will be transmitted
to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) following the completion of the
Commission's work. To the extent permitted by law, the Commission will request that NARA
not release to the public the Fannie Mae non-public information for an appropriate length of
time, likely five years or more. If you have a legal basis to believe that the Commission is not
required by law to provide certain Fannie Mae information to NARA, please let us know.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at 202-292-1339 or
GCohen@fcic.gov or Chris Seefer at 202-292-1345 or CSeefer@fcic.gov.
Thank you very much for Fannie Mae’s continued cooperation.
Very truly yours,
Gary J. Cohen
General Counsel
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
Cc: Tom Greene
Executive Director
Chris Seefer
4819‐4517‐5045, v. 2
@FedFRASER