Senator Dodd please take the stand and take the oath

[TheMercenary]

Dodd and Countrywide
The Senator should take the witness stand.Article

Former Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld was under oath Monday when he was grilled on Capitol Hill about his role in the current financial meltdown. But if Members really want to understand the credit mania, they should also call Chris Dodd.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, (D., Conn.).
The Connecticut Senator has been out front denouncing the "companies that form the foundation of our financial markets," for "their insatiable appetite for risk." He has also decried "reckless, careless and sometimes unscrupulous actors in the mortgage lending industry" and he has proclaimed that "American taxpayers deserve to know how we arrived at this moment." To that end, we propose he take the stand -- under oath.
Former Countrywide Financial loan officer Robert Feinberg says Mr. Dodd knowingly saved thousands of dollars on his refinancing of two properties in 2003 as part of a special program the California mortgage company had for the influential. He also says he has internal company documents that prove Mr. Dodd knew he was getting preferential treatment as a friend of Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide's then-CEO.
That a "Friends of Angelo" program existed is not in dispute. It was crucial to the boom that Countrywide enjoyed before its fortunes turned. While most of the company was aggressively lending to risky borrowers and off-loading those mortgages in bulk to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Mr. Feinberg's department was charged with making sure those who could influence Fannie and Freddie's appetite for risk were sufficiently buttered up. As a Banking Committee bigshot, Mr. Dodd was perfectly placed to be buttered.
A Friend Indeed
Mortgage VIPs 06/25/2008 – Sweetheart deals are just a phone call away.Angelo's Angel 06/19/2008 – The senate bailout for Countrywide needs more scrutiny.Congress and the Countrywide Scandal 06/18/2008 – Some senators want a bailout for big political donors. What a surprise.Beltwaywide Financial 06/16/2008 – The new ARMs: Angelo-rated mortgages for senators.In response to the charge that he knew he was getting favors, Mr. Dodd at first issued a strong denial: "This suggestion is outrageous and contrary to my entire career in public service. When my wife and I refinanced our loans in 2003, we did not seek or expect any favorable treatment. Just like millions of other Americans, we shopped around and received competitive rates." Less than a week later he acknowledged he was part of Countrywide's VIP program but claimed he thought it was "more of a courtesy."

(continues)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122360116724221681.html

[classicman]

Wasn't sure where to put this - I wish I could read the whole article, but my membership expired.
Link

Countrywide Financial Corp. recorded phone conversations with borrowers in a controversial mortgage program that included public officials -- and that those recordings have been destroyed -- has prompted new congressional calls for more information about the program.

Rep. Darrell Issa of California, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is trying to subpoena the remaining records of Countrywide's VIP loan program. So far, the committee's chairman, New York Democratic Rep. Edolphus Towns, has turned down that request.

The committee's Republican staff investigators have spent months looking into the VIP program, and learned of ...

I find it VERY interesting that they actually kept the tapes and are only now destroying them. I wonder why . . .

[xoxoxoBruce]

I think it's already be established that Countrywide Financial Corp was/is a pack of scumbags.

[classicman]

That wasn't the only point Bruce, but yeh they are. Now lets go after the other ones - the elected ones. Ya know, clean house and all that.

[xoxoxoBruce]

The politicians that get preferential treatment because they're politicians... everyday, in every way? That would be all of them, federal, state and local. Sometimes it's given for a hoped return of financial gain, and sometimes just plain brown nosing, but they all get it... and take it.

[Spexxvet]

from here

It wasn't only Democratic senators who got loans from Countrywide Financial Corp (nyse: CFC - news - people ), according to financial disclosure documents that show two Republicans on a key U.S. House committee also had loans with the troubled mortgage lender.

[TheMercenary]

Sure but they were not Senate Banking Committee Chairman. Fox watching the Hen House.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Sure but they were not Senate Banking Committee Chairman. Fox watching the Hen House.

Oh. Well, then, it's all ok.

[classicman]

Get rid of them!

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

Oh. Well, then, it's all ok.

If that is what you think. Fine. At a minimum people should be removed from oversight responsibility until the matter is cleared up.

It seems to me the matter has been cleared up.

Senate Ethics Committee dismissed complaint after spending nearly a year reviewing 18,000 pages of documents. On August 7, the Select Committee on Ethics wrote to Dodd that "the Committee finds no substantial credible evidence as required by Committee rules that your Countrywide mortgages violated Senate ethics rules."

The letter stated:

After examining the extensive record before it, the Committee found no credible evidence that you knowingly accepted a gift, including a loan not available to the public.

First, your mortgages were made in a commercially-reasonable manner based on terms and conditions available to borrowers with similar loan profiles. While your Countrywide loans were handled through the V.I.P. loan unit and designated as F.O.A. loans, the service you received was available to thousands of other non-Senate customers at Countrywide and the loans you received appear to have been available industry-wide to borrowers with comparable loan profiles. It appears your loans met all applicable underwriting standards and that you and your wife were excellent loan candidates and established Countrywide customers in good standing. You sought competing mortgage offers from other lenders that offered terms substantially similar to the ones Countrywide provided. There is no evidence that the interest rates for your Countrywide mortgages were below prevailing market rates.

Second, there is no credible evidence that you sought or knowingly received any financial benefits not available to other borrowers with similar loan profiles. The Committee has found no evidence that you or your wife ever asked for special treatment or that anyone ever communicated to you or your family that you were receiving specific discounts or other special treatment not available to other borrowers because of your status as a Senator.

Third, there is no credible evidence that you used your official position for personal gain. The Committee found no evidence that you fully understood the scope of the V.I.P. program, knew that you were in the "Friends of Angelo" program, or attempted to use your status as a Senator to receive loan terms not available to the public.

Letter (pdf)

I know this wont satisfy some...who want to kick him (or them all) out, regardless of having a cause of action.

An appearance of wrong-doing, while it makes for good media and perhaps even questionable judgement, is not an ethics violation or a crime.

[TheMercenary]

An appearance of wrong-doing remains. Although it does appear that his peers did clear him of wrong doing.

Barbara Levy Boxer, D
Johnny Isakson, R
Mark Lunsford Pryor, D
Pat Roberts, R
Sherrod Campbell Brown, D
Jim Risch, D

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

An appearance of wrong-doing remains. Although it does appear that his peers did clear him of wrong doing.

Barbara Levy Boxer, D
Johnny Isakson, R
Mark Lunsford Pryor, D
Pat Roberts, R
Sherrod Campbell Brown, D
Jim Risch, D

In fact, Jim Risch from Idaho is a Republican. Remember, he replaced Larry Craig after his incident in the men's room of the Minneapolis airport.

The Senate Ethics Committee has always been evenly represented, regardless of the party in majority.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Sure but they were not Senate Banking Committee Chairman. Fox watching the Hen House.

Well at least the Hen House isn't watching Fox.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Jim Risch, D

Originally Posted by Redux

In fact, Jim Risch from Idaho is a Republican. Remember, he replaced Larry Craig after his incident in the men's room of the Minneapolis airport.
The Senate Ethics Committee has always been evenly represented, regardless of the party in majority.

Don't worry, Merc. Fox News is always mistaking Republicans for Democrats. If such a professional and unimpeachable beacon of fairness and truth can make a mistake like that, I guess you can too.