Benjy Sarlin May 26, 2011, 4:57 PM

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) confirmed on Thursday that he helped his former domestic partner secure a job at Fannie Mae, an institution that Frank was entrusted with overseeing as a member of the House Financial Services Committee.

The story was first reported in a new book on the 2008 financial crisis by reporter Gretchen Morgensen, Reckless Endangerment. According to Morgensen, Frank talked up then-partner Herb Moses’ qualifications to Fannie Mae executives in 1991 to help him score a job with the mortgage giant. Frank later took Fannie Mae’s side against claims it had grown dangerously large repeatedly during his time on the committee, which he eventually took over as chairman in 2007.

In an interview with the Boston Herald, Frank confirmed the account, saying he was approached by Fannie Mae first about Moses and that he vouched for his qualifications. However, he denied there was anything improper about the exchange.

“If it is [a conflict of interest], then much of Washington is involved [in conflicts],” Frank said. “It is a common thing in Washington for members of Congress to have spouses work for the federal government. There is no rule against it at all.”

Frank’s seat was briefly considered competitive during last year’s Republican wave and GOP officials are jumping on the latest news. Tory Mazzola, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, blasted Frank in the Herald.

“Just when you think you’ve heard the worst, Democrats in Massachusetts take shameless politics to a new low,” Mazzola said. “The fact that Barney Frank didn’t see this as a conflict of interest is alarming by itself, but it’s so deceitful that it really shows voters that he’s not looking out for them in Washington.”

Barney Frank, Fannie Mae