Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

[obiterdictum]

The GSEs are on a tightrope crossing a chasm. Under ordinary circumstances, the GSE could easily cross from one side of solid ground to the other side of the chasm to solid ground. But what they face now "midway" along the wire with the chasm directly below are the interpretive winds of regulatory law and statutes that will be blown by judges and panel in these cases at the GSEs as they go along in their business without falling into the chasm of whatever. Those winds can be slight and offer no threat or they can blow the GSEs off the tightrope and into the chasm. These two outcomes are awaited with increasing anxiety by shareholders.

The cases are legally and substantially clear and the outcome should favor the GSEs. However, the judges in these cases are playing with the law presented by the defendants, especially the procedural aspects (jurisdiction, claims). Procedural law, in these cases, can be manipulated in one way or another as the US Government has done. Because of the intense focus on procedural law, the judges have not yet reached the substantial issues of the cases and forced to deal with the procedural issues thrown up by the defendants.

See:
http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/P/ProceduralLaw.aspx
http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/S/SubstantiveLaw.aspx