"Since the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending the mortgage finance companies and their former top executives in civil lawsuits accusing them of fraud," according to the lead story on the front page of today's edition of The New York Times by Gretchen Morgenson.

The article said that "the cost was a closely guarded secret until last week, when the companies and their regulator produced an accounting at the request of Congress. The bulk of those expenditures - $132 million - went to defend Fannie Mae and its officials in various securities suits and government investigations into accounting irregularities that occurred years before the subprime lending crisis erupted. The legal payments show no sign of abating."

Taxpayers have paid $24.2 million to law firms defending three of Fannie's former top executives: Franklin D. Raines, its former chief executive; Timothy Howard, its former chief financial officer; and Leanne Spencer, the former controller, according to documents reviewed by The Times.

In an interview last week, Randy Neugebauer, Republican of Texas and now chairman of the oversight subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee, told The Times that he felt "very strongly" that "we need to be doing everything we can to minimize any further exposure to the taxpayers associated with these companies." Late last year, he had requested the figures from the Federal Housing Finance Agency that is the regulator charged with overseeing the mortgage finance companies and acts as their conservator, trying to preserve the company's assets on behalf of taxpayers, the article said.

The article noted that it is "typical for corporations to cover such fees unless an executive is found to be at fault," adding that "in this case, if the former executives are found liable, the government can try to recoup the costs, but that could prove challenging."

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the government in September 2008, and their losses stemming from bad loans were recently estimated at about $150 billion.

Because the financial regulatory overhaul passed last summer did not address how to resolve Fannie and Freddie, Congress, the article said, is expected to take up that complex matter this year. The Treasury Department is expected to publish a report in the next few weeks outlining the administration's recommendations regarding the future of the companies.

Mr. Raines retired in December 2004 and Mr. Howard resigned at the same time. Ms. Spencer left her position as controller in early 2005. The following year, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, then the company's regulator, published an in-depth report on the company's accounting practices, accusing Fannie's top executives of taking actions to manipulate profits and generate $115 million in improper bonuses.

According to the article, "the office sued Mr. Raines, Mr. Howard and Ms. Spencer in 2006, seeking $100 million in fines and $115 million in restitution. In 2008, the three former executives settled with the regulator, returning $31.4 million in compensation. Without admitting or denying the regulator's allegations, Mr. Raines paid $24.7 million and Mr. Howard paid $6.4 million; Ms. Spencer returned $275,000."

Fannie Mae also settled a fraud suit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission without admitting or denying the allegations; the company paid $400 million in penalties.