Roger Mudd and the Fannie Mae Kerfuffle

Newsman Mudd

One afternoon in 2005, on the sidelines at Washington Episcopal School in Bethesda, MD, I met Roger Mudd - star CBS correspondent throughout the 1960's and 1970's, and subsequently host, co-host or contributor to NBC News, Meet the Press, and McNeil Lehrer Newshour.  I knew Roger's son Matt because our daughters were lacrosse teammates and playing against WES that day.

Matt greeted me, introduced me to Dad, and we enjoyed a few moments of sunshine before I told Matt "I just heard your brother on the radio as I was driving here!"   Roger's ears perked up: "How did he do?"  "Fine - they didn't lay a glove on him!"

Dan Mudd: Taught me Laddered T-Bills and Mark-to-Market

At the time - that very day in fact - older son Dan, then the C.O.O. in Franklin D. Raines' Fannie Mae, had spent 2 hours testifying before a senate committee regarding improprieties at FNMA.  These problems, from which Dan himself emerged wholly intact, did reveal substantial wrongdoing by Raines and CFO Tim Howard, in what would be preamble to the unraveling of Fannie Mae as a structural support to the housing and financial markets in 2008 (see Reckless Endangerment for a superb account).

Dan too had kids at the school, and he and I served for 4 years together on the Budget & Finance committee for the small ($6 MM annual budget) operation.  A USMC vet,  he patiently taught me some simple principles and terms of art in the course of our work together.  On one occasion, attending a winter fundraiser together, Dan (well, his driver) jumped the dead battery in my Isuzu Trooper.  Today, Dan is CEO of Fortress Investments.  And today Fannie Mae is asking the U.S. Treasury (that is, you and me) for another $5.1 BB in protection against the consequences of its business decisions.

Of my exchange with Roger regarding Dan, I'll say it was funny to share the news I'd just consumed retail, from NPR, with this giant of journalism, but satisfying to learn he'd suffer this fool gladly, and I guess that he needs to source his facts like anyone else, no matter how dubious the source.  In this case, he was able to get corroboration later - not only from other news sources and intermediaries, but likely direct from the subject.

Roger Mudd at 83 continues to consult on the presentation of documentary programming and and to share historical, political and ethical context on the History Channel.  He has also generously endowed a center for Ethics study at Washington & Lee University in Virginia.  And he's a devoted grand-dad who likes a good lacrosse game once in a while....