Perhaps no one is better suited to evaluate President Obama’s new investigative and prosecutorial unit on abuses in the mortgage industry than former governor and attorney general Eliot Spitzer. As a prosecutor and attorney general, he was known for his aggressive pursuit of financial abuse; he warned us about the ultimate financial collapse; and he has written about these topics extensively since the crisis in 2008.
How likely is it that the new unit will produce results? Does it represent a genuine pivot point for the president, or is it just election year positioning? What challenges will it face from the industry? In addition to these questions, governor Spitzer also discusses the story that NPR originally broke, that Freddie Mac made investments geared toward people not being able to refinance their mortgages, which runs against the mission of the institution. Finally, he reflects on what he’s learned from his experiences at CNN, and whether he’s contemplating a return to public office.
