mudd and his colleagues knew that the risks were growing in the housing market. but they underestimated how much worse things could get. they were red-blooded american businessmen. they were out to win the game and take on the stock options. they debated for a while in 2005, and in the end by early 2006 they decided if wall street thought was a good idea to buy lots of high subprime mortgage, if wall street was raking in the dough, well, then he should do so, too. of course, they said we will do it in a responsible way. fannie may this indecision. they they both increase their buying of mortgages at the worst possible moment. just went housing market was starting to collapse. well, by late 2007, early 2008 they were losing large amounts of money. the chinese have bought lots of fannie and freddie the bonds were getting antsy. they kept going up paulson and saying what's up? are you behind fannie and freddie or not? we can hardly tell china to go jump in the south china sea because they were our biggest creditors. so by 2008 the game was over. treasury had to come

there are ways around that but there's a lot of risk. >> reporter: mudd says it's still better to train how to handle these items. >>> 52 minutes past the hour. the movie "zero dark thirty" had its premiere last night in hollywood. this is a movie about the hundred, capture and death of osama bin laden. it's already getting oscar buzz. but critics say the movie supports waterboarding prisoners. screenwriter mark boal disagrees. >> it's a movie. it's a controversial subject. i understand that. it's been controversial before the movie came out. it will continue to be controversial, probably. people will bring to the film what they want in terms of their political points of view. it's obviously not -- we don't advocate torture. that would be a pretty gross mischaracterization of the film. >>s there a lot of controversy surrounding this film. last year republican congressman peter king claimed they got classified documents from the obama administration to make this movie. the white house denied it. "zero dark thirty" opens nationwide on january 11th. >> we have a jam packed hour straight ah

phillip mudd, a former cia and fbi counterterrorism official, says there's a huge concern over who toemical weapons. >> when you've got roughly 10% of the opposition in the. >>>s u.s. government is declaring are terrorist group you're going to be concerned. in any case like this, there's a lot of risk. >> reporter: but mudd says it's still better to train the rebels on how to handle those materials than to do nothing. and leonard specter says the u.s. and its allies are likely screening the individuals who are being trained very carefully, wofrl, at least that's the hope. >> despite all that, there's still a potential for these chemical weapons getting into the wrong hands. despite what the u.s. is trying to do. >> reporter: phillip mudd says if the syrian regime loses control of these weapons, that's a huge worry. if they fall into the hands of others who are not trusted by the u.s. or its allies they could float around the border to iraq or other potentially dangerous places where they don't have control over these things. if assad loses control of these things anytime soon, watch o

amid this dangerous period fannie appointed a new ceo, dan mud, son of roger mudd, the tv newscaster. he was an ex-marine decorated for dangerous mission in lebanon and now stepping into another minefield. he saw his job as cleaning up the accounting mess, making nice with the critics of fannie mae, meeting the hud goals for affordable housing which had been increased even further under president bush and competing with wall street in the mortgage market because by now wall street was crazy about mortgage, especially the riskier kinds because they were very profitable. wall street was taking away more and more of the business from fannie and freddie. mud and his colleagues were worried fannie might become irrelevant. what should they do? should they go out and buy the same crazy mortgages wall street was buying? should a step back from the market and wait for a new outbreak of sanity? mud and his colleagues knew that the risks were growing but they underestimated how much worse things could get and they were red blooded american businessmen how to win the game and take home the stock

a guy who signed up for his first acting class after told him a one flunks acting, it is like jim mudd[laughter] -- it is like gym. i imagine his success is the inability to see himself anything other than an underdog. he said i really believe that was a fluke and refuse to believe i have arrived. in a way, i've been hanging on by my fingertips for the entire ride here yet you will be glad to know that this award was not supposed to go to robert redford. here has one. [laughter] -- he already has one. dustinght we honored tu hoffman, who has finally arrived. [applause] if you ask david letterman what is it like to tape a show, he says it is going well, it just which you. it is not going well, it things you. my favorite hour of the day. it is unclear how he feels about this hour. it is different when you're not the one with the microphone. isn't it? you're looking a little stressed, aren't you? i would also point out it is a lot warmer than on dave's set. i have enjoyed my time in "the ed sullivan theater." he it celebrated 30 years, the only person to reach that milestone besides johnn

this is the 2012 claude moore lecture, journalists roger mudd moderates a panel discussion on what soproudly we hail, the messages of the war of 1812. tonight we are privileged to hear two distinguished guests discuss the past, present and future of the united states constitution. akhil reed amar has joined yale university where he teaches constitutional law at the college and the law school. he received both his b.a. and j.d. from yale and serves as an editor for the yale law's journal. after clerking for stephen breyer when he was judge of the u.s. court of appeals for the first circuit professor amar joined the faculty of yale in 1985. professor amar is a coeditor of the leading constitutional law casebook, decision-decision- making and is the author of several other books including the constitution and criminal procedure, the bill of rights creation and reconstruction, america's constitution a biography and most recently america's unwritten constitution, the president's and decibels we live by. the honorable clarence thomas has served as an associate justice of the supreme court o

this is the 2012 claude moore lecture, journalists roger mudd moderates a panel discussion on what so proudly we hail, the messages of the war of 1812. tonight we are privileged to hear two distinguished guests discuss the past, present and future of the united states constitution. akhil reed amar has joined yale university where he teaches constitutional law at the college and the law school. he received both his b.a. and j.d. from yale and serves as an editor for the yale law's journal. after clerking for stephen breyer when he was judge of the u.s. court of appeals for the first circuit professor amar joined the faculty of yale in 1985. professor amar is a coeditor of the leading constitutional law casebook, decision-decision- making and is th author of several other books including the constitution and criminal procedure, the bill of rights creation and reconstruction, america's constitution a biography and most recently america's unwritten constitution, the president's and decibels we live by. the honorable clarence thomas has served as an associate justice of the supreme court o

this is the 2012 claude moore lecture, journalists roger mudd moderates a panel discussion on what so proudly we hail, the messages of the war of 1812. tonight we are privileged to hear two distinguished guests discuss the past, present and future of the united states constitution. akhil reed amar has joined yale university where he teaches constitutional law at the college and the law school. he received both his b.a. and j.d. from yale and serves as an editor for the yale law's journal. after clerking for stephen breyer when he was judge of the u.s. court of appeals for the first circuit professor amar joined the faculty of yale in 1985. professor amar is a coeditor of the leading constitutional law casebook, decision-decision- making and is the author of several other books including the constitution and criminal procedure, the bill of rights creation and reconstruction, america's constitution a biography and most recently america's unwritten constitution, the president's and decibels we live by. the honorable clarence thomas has served as an associate justice of the supreme court