Contact: Bob Sturm, 703-396-6974; Cynthia Chambliss, 703-396-6971; after 6 PM Eastern, 703- 307-8176 or 703-930-5148

MANASSAS, Virginia, September 19 /Christian Newswire/ -- Members of Congress who helped bring about the current financial crisis should be investigated, placed under oath and made to testify publicly about their role, and forced to disgorge money they received from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and other bailed-out corporations, Richard A. Viguerie, the Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, said.

"For years, while Fannie and Freddie and other financial institutions were buying favor and cover on the Hill through campaign contributions, and making multimillionaires out of politicians and their friends, few people cared, because they didn't see how it could affect them. Now they know. Now the American public should demand that politicians like Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, and Chuck Schumer explain, under penalty of perjury, why they protected these 'houses-of-cards.'

"Democratic pols such as Franklin Raines, Jim Johnson, Jamie Gorelick, and other well-connected insiders - including Republicans - who profited obscenely from working at Fannie Mae should be dragged in front of investigating committees. They should be forced to testify about what they did to 'earn' the tens of millions of dollars they made. They should be forced to tell us exactly how the books were cooked.

"Over the past decade and a half, Democrats substituted bad social engineering and special-interest favoritism for sound financial practices. Their greed for power led them to try to buy votes with easy credit backed by taxpayer guarantees, which in turn got us to where we are today. Every politician involved with Fannie or Freddie, or with corrupt practices such as 'credit for the non-creditworthy,' should be held to account for his or her actions.

"The investigation should reach back to Clinton administration officials Janet Reno, Roberta Achtenberg, and others who, in the 1990s, used fraudulent 'studies' of mortgage lending patterns' to pressure lenders to extend credit to people who weren't capable of paying back their loans. This was corruption that put the American taxpayer and the American economy at risk for the political gain of a few. This was Chicago-style politics, played out at the national level," Viguerie said.

"This scandal is far, far bigger than Enron," he noted. "You'll know that someone is taking this seriously when the key players in this scandal are as infamous as Ken Lay."

Viguerie acknowledged, "Whoever takes on this assignment--bringing these people to justice--will be vilified by the Washington establishment and most of the media. They protect their own. And Fannie and Freddie and their ilk have been careful to spread enough of the slush funds around to Republicans, as well as Democrats, to ensure that any investigation would entangle both. They gave hundreds of millions to politicians' favorite charities, as well - corrupting those charities and forming a last line of defense against reform.

"For Republicans, this is a test of whether they are the party of change and the middle class, or the party of cronyism and the country club. To get at the Democrats who are mostly responsible for this scandal, they may have to take down some Republicans as well.

"If the Republicans don't move quickly to put responsibility where it belongs," Viguerie said, "I'm sure President Obama will find someone else to blame."

NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called "one of the creators of the modern conservative movement" (The Nation magazine), one of the "conservatives of the century" (The Washington Times), and one of 2008's "top 25 influencers" among Republicans (NewsMax magazine). His latest book is Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big-Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books).