Q.   Is the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) subject to FOIA regulations? Is Fannie Mae required to produce documents in response to a FOIA request?

A.  Fannie Mae is a private entity under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.  This means that Fannie Mae need not respond to FOIA requests submitted directly to it, but its records might be subject to FOIA requests submitted to FHFA.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has held that Fannie Mae records are not subject to FOIA if FHFA has neither read or relied upon them, nor integrated them into its files. See Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Fed. Housing Fin. Agency, No. 10-5349, 2011 WL 3375576 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 5, 2011).