WASHINGTON - A Federal Housing Finance Board spokesman said Thursday that at least some personnel at the agency knew in advance that outside investigators planned to inspect its computer files as part of an investigation of Chairman John T. Korsmo.
The spokesman, Carter Wood, on Wednesday had said that the investigators had shown up at the board's offices without any warning but corrected himself on Thursday. He said that Judith Hofmann, the director of its Office of Management, warned Finance Board staff to expect investigators to request access to their computer files after Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md. called for an investigation of Mr. Korsmo's participation in a political fund-raiser.
During an Oct. 21 meeting staff from the inspector general's office formally told Ms. Hoffman and Don Demitros, the board's chief information officer, that they would want access to staff computers, Mr. Wood said.
"No one had specific knowledge of when the computers would be checked, or in which fashion they would be checked," said the spokesman, whose computer was one of about a dozen that were examined. "However, it is a routine step we fully anticipated."
