" "The senator said on Wednesday that an investment company he owns gave her the mortgage, then canceled it in December 2004, several months after they had stopped dating."
Notice how artfully the NYT puts this. The loan wasn't cancelled--which sounds like they didn't give her the money after all. It was FORGIVEN, which means it wasn't even a loan.
If this was a Republic the headline would be on the frontpage above the fold with a picture of the girlfriend:;
"GOP GOV GIVES OIL LOBBYIST GIRLFRIEND HALF MILLION DOLLARS!"
The two probably conferred---make that conspired---to get their stories straight, as well, before speaking to the media.