The New York Times reported Monday that since the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending the mortgage finance companies in civil lawsuits. The companies produced an accounting revealing the information at the request of Congress. The newspaper says the bulk of those expenditures went to defend Fannie Mae and its officials in various securities suits and government investigations into accounting irregularities that occurred years before the subprime lending crisis erupted and show no signs of abating. Total losses at the mortgage giants since their government takeover amount to some $150 billion.