Obama's Document Debate and MERS' Murky Mortgages — ProPublica

Obama's Document Debate and MERS' Murky Mortgages

April 24, 2009, 10:40 a.m. EDT

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The Washington Postputs us in the room -- Rahm Emanuel's office it turns out -- where deliberations about releasing the interrogation memos took place. Among the revelations: President Barack Obama staged an actual debate, appointing spokespeople for both sides, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates was willing to support the release in exchange for a promise not to prosecute CIA operatives.

Also, a confidential computer registry for trading mortgages owned by some of the nation's largest lenders has been cropping up on foreclosure dockets across the country, the New York Times reports. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, which holds 60 million mortgages, has been used by lenders to avoid filing paperwork and paying more than $1 billion in fees. MERS' president defended the company, telling the Times that it has imposed order on the sprawling mortgage industry and helped reduce fraud.

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