Free Republic

A Democratic committee chairman overrode his own subpoena three years ago in an investigation of former subprime mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. to exclude records showing that he, other House members and congressional aides got VIP discounted loans from the company, documents show. The procedure to keep the names secret was devised by Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y. In 2003, the 15-term congressman had two loans processed by Countrywide’s VIP section, which was established to give discounts to favored borrowers. Issa exposed Towns’ coverup by issuing a second subpoena, which disgorged all of the records: The effort at secrecy was reversed...

<p>Bernard Madoff, the investment fund manager and former Nasdaq chairman accused of a Ponzi scheme in which investors allegedly lost up to $50 billion, is a major contributor to Democratic causes, and his company spent almost $600,000 to curry favor in Washington, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.</p>