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(WTNH) _ Senator Chris Dodd’s nearly 28 years as Connecticut’s United States Senator is being seriously tested. He says he thought the VIP treatment he got from Countrywide Financial was just because he was a good customer, and not because he was a United States Senator who chairs the senate banking committee. It appears some people in Connecticut are having a hard time buying that. W-T-I-C AM Radio’s Jim Vicevich has been fielding calls about Senator Chris Dodd’s mortgages since Friday. But, since Dodd finally addressed the issue in public Tuesday, it appears many are not buying his explanation. “As...

Dodd knew of VIP treatment since 2003 By Jessica Holzer Posted: 06/17/08 04:40 PM [ET] Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said he and his wife knew Countrywide Inc. was treating them as “VIP” customers when they refinanced mortgages on two homes in 2003, but that it did not cross his mind he was getting a perk from the sub-prime lender. Dodd, who as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee oversees mortgage lenders, said he did not ask and Countrywide’s representatives did not say what the VIP treatment entailed. “We knew at the time that we were being dealt with within a...

While liberal journalists have moved on from the Christopher Dodd-Countrywide Financial scandal, questions linger about the sweetheart loans he got in 2003 from Angelo Mozilo. At the time, Mr. Mozilo was chairman and CEO of Countrywide, which would become a leading player in the subprime-mortgage crisis and would benefit greatly if Congress passes Sen. Dodd's lending-industry bailout bill. Does anyone believe Sen. Dodd when he says he and his wife did not "anticipate any special treatment" from Countrywide and were unaware they got it? A senator get treated royally everywhere he goes. He gets his jollies from the rump kissing...

Not making many headlines because the perps are Democrats, the sweetheart loan deals that former Obama Vice Presidential vetter Jim Johnson accepted from Countrywide Chairman Angelo Mozilo have ensnared two Democratic senators; Ken Conrad of North Dakota and former presidential candidate Chris Dodd of Connecticut. Conrad's approach was outrageous. Here's how the Wall Street Journal describes Conrad's dealings with Countrywide and Mozilo: Take Senator Kent Conrad, the North Dakota Democrat whose office issued a Friday statement saying that "I never met Angelo Mozilo." What he did not say then but admitted under later questioning by a Journal reporter is that,...

The loud "thud" you just heard over in the corner of the Senate hearing room was Senator Chris Dodd's vice presidential hopes hitting the wall. The Senator was the second major political figure caught up in and possibly brought down by various aspects of the mortgage mess in general and Countrywide Financial in particular. The Senator, a Democrat from Connecticut and Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee which regulates mortgage lending, was named in an article by Julie Hirschfeld Davis of the Associated Press and earlier by Conde Nast Portfolio magazine, as one of two senators – the other being...

The Wall Street Journal explains today that Senator Chris Dodd and Senator Kent Conrad received special “VIP” treatment from Countrywide, a company that has been heavily criticized in the sub-prime mortgage “crisis.” It turns out that while Senators Dodd and Conrad were self-righteously railing against companies that offered sub-prime loans, they were refinancing their homes with special deals from Countrywide that the average American did not have access to. Now, these Senators are backing a $300 billion bailout of lenders and borrowers who made bad decisions on mortgages. Countrywide stands to gain a lot from the bailout, which is raising...

When it comes to charging abuse in markets like the mortgage business, American politicians, right up the ladder, should zip their lips. They're not ones to talk. That's becoming ever more painfully clear with reports like the one Thursday from Condé Nast Portfolio suggesting that several key pols got favored treatment on their personal mortgages. The lucky winners included folks like Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Kent Conrad (D-ND), plus several former Cabinet secretaries: ex-Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson; ex-Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala (who is to receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom on Thursday) and ex-UN Ambassador and...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Countrywide Financial, the largest mortgage lender at the center of the US housing crisis, regularly gave loans on favorable terms to prominent lawmakers and former cabinet members, according to US media. The preferential treatment for senators including Democrat Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and a recent presidential candidate, was approved by Angelo Mozilo, chief executive of Countrywide Financial, the Washington Post reported on Saturday. CondeNast Portfolio magazine first broke the story on Wednesday, saying the recipients of the favorable terms were known as "Friends of Angelo" in internal company documents and e-mails. "Make an...

Dodd Defends His Own Mortgage DealsBy JESSE A. HAMILTON | Washington Bureau Chief June 14, 2008 WASHINGTON — - Sen. Christopher Dodd says there was nothing special about the 2003 mortgages on his two homes, and that he requested no preferential treatment from his lender. But it might take more than a short denial to get past this week's reports that he was one of several prominent politicians given deals by Countrywide Financial Corp. on their home loans. "As a United States senator, I would never ask or expect to be treated differently than anyone else refinancing their home," Dodd...

You're not going to believe this about Countrywide : "Senators Christopher Dodd, Democrat from Connecticut and chairman of the Banking Committee, and Kent Conrad, Democrat from North Dakota, chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, refinanced properties through Countrywide’s “V.I.P.” program in 2003 and 2004, according to company documents and emails and a former employee familiar with the loans. Other participants in the V.I.P. program included former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and former U.N. ambassador and assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke....

When Senator Kent Conrad wanted a mortgage for his beach house,he turned to a Washington insider, Johnson, former head of Fannie Mae, the government mortgage giant, who then put the senator in touch with Angelo Mozilo, chief executive of the mortgage lender Countrywide Financial. The ensuing telephone call between Mr. Conrad of North Dakota and Mr. Mozilo led to two Countrywide mortgages, including one in which the company bent its rules to give Mr. Conrad a loan. Those loans are among a number of Countrywide mortgages at the center of an examination into whether a number of top politicians in...

WASHINGTON - Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, a leader of Congress' efforts to help homeowners ensnared in the subprime mortgage meltdown, reportedly got special treatment on his own mortgages from the CEO of Countrywide Financial Corp., a company whose practices he has called "abusive."At least one other lawmaker, Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., also benefited from the VIP treatment after placing a personal call to Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo seeking a mortgage.Both senators say they weren't aware they were getting special deals.Still, their involvement in a special program that awarded discounts and waived fees for "friends" of Mozilo —...

WASHINGTON - Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd reportedly received two mortgages under a special Countrywide Financial Corp. program that gave preferential interest rates to "friends" of the company's chairman. A spokesman for Dodd, D-Conn., said Friday that the senator did not seek any special treatment.

CHRIS DODD SWEETHEART LOAN STORY I just left a message for Justine Sessions, Deputy Press Secretary for Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman of the Banking Committee. Dodd was the beneficiary of an insider loan from Countrywide for his condo in which he paid no loan fees or points. His constituents could not get that loan. That stinks. I let Justine know I was working on a story and wondered if, because of the controversy, will the senator pay off the Countrywide loan and get a new loan. Perhaps I should not hold my breath awaiting a return phone call. If...

Sen. Christopher Dodd, a top figure in Democrats' response to the housing crisis, defended through a spokesman two mortgages he reportedly received under a special Countrywide Financial Corp. program that awarded preferential interest rates to people referred to as "friends" of the company's chairman and chief executive, Angelo Mozilo. "The Dodds received a competitive rate on their loans," said Bryan DeAngelis, Sen. Dodd's press secretary. "They did not seek or anticipate any special treatment, and they were not aware of any." He declined further comment. The news could cause headaches for the Connecticut senator, who is trying to negotiate housing...

Two influential US senators got "VIP" loans from a subprime mortgage lender saving them tens of thousands of dollars. Democrats, Chris Dodd, Connecticut and Kent Conrad of NDakota, received highly favorable loans under "Friend of Angelo," a reference to embattled Countrywide head Angelo Mozilo, Condé Nast Portfolio reported. Dodd chairs the Senate Banking Committee; Conrad chairs the Budget Committee and is a member of the Finance Committee. Others who received "FOA" loans include Alphonso Jackson, HUD Secy under Pres Bush ( resigned in April), and Donna Shalala, Clinton's HHS secretary. The report came one day after Democratic heavyweight Jim Johnson...

When a high-ranking U.S. senator sounds more like Karl Marx than Adam Smith over the issue of energy prices, it must be an election year. Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, appeared on CNBC’s June 10 “Squawk Box” pushing government control of corporate profits. Dodd said he considered a company to be “doing very, very well” with profits above $8 or $10 per barrel of oil. He said he advocated a windfall profits tax, where Congress would determine what amount of profit is fair and what isn’t. Co-host Joe Kernan called the Connecticut senator on...

In the FISA debate, Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd says the telecoms are like the defendants at the Nuremberg trials. I guess since he didn’t get the presidential nomination, he’s trying out for diarist at the Daily Kos. The video. Bushitler! Bushitler! Bushitler! Wonder how his fellow Connecticut senator’s wife feels about Dodd’s rhetoric; her parents survived the Holocaust. Somehow turning over telephone records does not equate to the systematic murder of 12 million people.

Financiers' donations to US presidential candidates may have gone to the also-rans. Until recently, little was known of SAC Capital hedge fund manager Ping Jiang other than his alleged harassment of colleague Andrew Tong. That case - which Jiang denies - centres on accusations he told Tong to take female hormones and wear women's clothes. But now Jiang is of interest for another reason. He is one of the thousands of Wall Street types taking an active role in the presidential election cycle by backing candidates with his own money. But while Wall Street likes to back winners in the...

MANCHESTER – Republican presidential candidates Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney yesterday agreed to participate in the WMUR/ABC/Facebook presidential debates just three days before the primary Jan. 8. They join fellow Republicans John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson in officially agreeing to the debates scheduled for Jan. 5 at St. Anselm College. The forums begin at 7 p.m. Bartlett said all the major Democratic and Republican candidates’ campaigns have been involved in discussions about the debates. Democratic presidential candidates who have committed to the debates include Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Chris Dodd, Joseph Biden...