Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

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Not sure, but he explicitly said a month or two ago, that he would not say whether he did or didn't meet with Mnuchin. I would imagine that if he said that he did meet with him, then people would assume all of his opinions going forth are Mnuchin's opinions (especially if they are a bit out of the ordinary), ruining any kind of confidentiality Mnuchin would be able confide with him.

"I generally don’t talk about or publicize who I’m meeting or corresponding with, or what I say to them, because I think I can be more effective operating behind the scenes. "

"As for Secretary Mnuchin, although I’ve not yet met with him, it’s very likely that I will at some point. But when I do I won’t talk about it in this blog, or beyond a very small circle of people.

My goal is to do what I can to help get to the right solution on mortgage reform. I understand that most of the readers of this blog also have a goal of getting maximum value for their investments in Fannie and Freddie, be they common or preferred, in a minimum period of time, and for that they’d like frequent reports on how the battle is going. For my purposes, though, sometimes it makes sense to give those, and sometimes it doesn’t. I hope people understand."

Also check Howard's blog for his comment on Phillips. Doesn't know him well enough to comment, apart that he would hope his previous knowledge would make him know that TBTF bank model doesn't work. And says:

"And if there are gaps in his experience or inaccuracies in his knowledge base, Secretary Mnuchin should be able to help remediate them."

Again, making a claim on what Mnuchin "should" know.