Senators Lobby Consumer Bureau in Letter That Appears to Be Written by Agency’s Own Adviser

Kelsey Harkness / @kelseyjharkness / April 14, 2016 / 11 comments

The Daily Signal has obtained a draft letter from two Democrat senators urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to continue addressing what they call “discriminatory and unfair lending practices” in the auto industry. 

But, according to metadata found in the document’s properties, it appears the letter may not have been written by the two senators or any of their staffers but instead by a top adviser to the agency.

“We write to urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), in the face of opposition, to continue its work to combat discriminatory and unfair lending practices, particularly in auto finance,” the letter from Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, states. “Discrimination has no place in our financial system. We believe it is appropriate and necessary for the bureau to continue this work, and urge the bureau to do so.”

The letter, a copy of which is below, was provided to The Daily Signal by a Republican staffer. According to the document’s metadata, the author is Chris Kukla from Self-Help Credit Union. The Daily Signal has not been able to independently verify that the Microsoft Word document received was the original document.....To Read More....