House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, said he plans to examine media reports alleging that Fannie Mae violated restrictions by participating in lobbying efforts. Fannie Mae denied the claims. Last week, Fannie’s general counsel, Brian Brooks, was accused of meeting with members of the executive branch to discuss housing-finance reform. Hensarling said if the report that was published in Bloomberg is accurate, high-ranking Fannie employees have been intentionally violating their government prohibition on lobbying through a series of “secret” meetings to remove the GSE from conservatorship. “If true, this violation is more than an outrage, it is a direct affront on taxpayers and the current structure of the federally-backed conservatorship that has allowed Fannie Mae to operate for the last decade,” said Hensarling.