Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders faced another hurdle last week when the Eighth Circuit Court ruled that the Treasury sweep of GSE profits was legal. In fact, in the 14-page ruling, filed on Aug. 23, the judge said, “This shareholder lawsuit crashes into a roadblock before it can get started,” and stated that the Federal Housing Finance Agency did not exceed its conservatorship powers, as the plaintiffs argued. “Congress, intentionally or otherwise, may have created a monster by handing an agency breathtakingly broad powers and insulating the exercise of those powers from judicial review. Even so, clear statutory text dictates the outcome,” said Judge David Stras in Saxton vs. the FHFA.