Franklin Raines - The Washington Post reported in July 2008 that Franklin Raines had "taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters." Though the unsourced statement was not questioned at the time, the Obama campaign later denied that Franklin Raines had advised the candidate in any capacity, and Raines himself issued a statement saying, "I am not an advisor to Barack Obama, nor have I provided his campaign with advice on housing or economic matters."
Whatever the case, "taking calls" on mortgage and housing questions from a presidential campaign does not constitute acting as a "chief economic adviser."
Tim Howard, former Fannie Mae Chief Financial Officer, has no evident connection to the Barack Obama campaign at all, let alone as a "chief economic adviser."
Jim Johnson, who was CEO of Fannie Mae between 1991 and 1998, is the only one of these three men to have a documented connection to the Obama campaign. He served briefly as a member of Obama's vice-presidential vetting committee before stepping down amid allegations that he received below-market-rate mortgage loans from Countrywide Bank, one of the institutions involved in the subprime mortgage crisis. So far as can be determined from published sources, at no time has Johnson acted as a "senior financial adviser" to the campaign.
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Sources and further reading:
Fannie Mae's Top Executives Leaving Firm
Washington Post, 22 December 2004
Study Finds 'Extensive' Fraud at Fannie Mae
Washington Post, 24 May 2006
On the Outside Now, Watching Fannie Falter
Washington Post, 16 July 2008
Jim Johnson Quits Obama's VP Search Team
ABC News, 11 June 2008
Obama Denies Raines Ties...
Politico.com, Ben Smith's Blog, 18 September 2008
Linking Obama to Ex-Fannie Mae Chief Is a Stretch
Washington Post, 20 September 2008
Last updated: 10/07/08