WaPo: Bachmann benefitted from federal home loan program

The Washington Post is reporting that Rep. Michele Bachmann and her husband took out a $417,000 home loan backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac in 2008.

The loan helped Bachmann, a vocal opponent of government programs and subsidies, buy a 5,200-square-foot home, according to the story.

Just a few weeks before Bachmann called for dismantling the programs during a House Financial Services Committee hearing, she and her husband signed for a $417,000 home loan to help finance their move to a 5,200-square-foot golf course home, public records show. Experts who examined the loan documents for The Washington Post say they are confident that the loan was backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

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The story goes on,

Bachmann's mortgage loan was part of a package of debt that she and her husband, Marcus, assumed to buy their home, public records show. They also have other loans, including a home equity line of credit, a business mortgage and another business loan for their Christian counseling clinics, bringing their liabilities to more than $1 million, according to the most recently available public records.

Bachmann's spokesman, Doug Sachtleben told the Post that, "The Congresswoman's personal financial disclosures will speak for themselves."

This isn't the first time Bachmann's been scrutinized for taking government benefits. In June, the Los Angeles Times reported that Bachmann received farm subsidies . (Bachmann denied that she'd received farm dollars.)

And NBC News reported that Bachmann's husband took $137,000 in Medicaid payments for treating patients at his counseling clinic.

Bachmann's now a frontrunner in the presidential race, and I suspect this won't be the last time her history, finances and legislative record are scrutinized by journalists and opponents.

(Update: The blog post initially reported that the home loan was from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The post has been updated.)