Free Republic

n the middle of a difficult re-election campaign, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., on Friday was cleared by the Senate Ethics Committee from a year-long investigation about whether mortgages he obtained from Countrywide Financial Corp. violated the senate's rules on gifts. The committee, however, did scold the senior lawmaker for not being more careful in his dealings. "While the committee finds no substantial credible evidence as required by committee rules that your Countrywide mortgage violated Senate ethics rules, the committee does believe that you should have exercised more vigilance in your dealings with Countrywide in order to avoid...

TWO cut-rate mortgages from failed subprime giant Countrywide Financial continue to cost Sen. Christopher Dodd, shredding the Connecticut Democrat's credibility as he faces re-election next fall. This week, news of the secretive Senate Ethics Committee investigation into Dodd's unusual mortgage deals leaked to The Associated Press. AP reported that at least one witness, Robert Feinberg, starkly contradicted Dodd's account of what favors he knew he was getting from a company that, as a member of the Banking Committee, he helps regulate

Corruption: Chris Dodd's teetering re-election chances weren't helped by news that the senator may have lied about not knowing he got preferential treatment as one of Countrywide Financial's Friends of Angelo program.Can you foreclose on a house of cards? Dodd, D-Conn., may soon find out after the official who handled his mortgages testified before both the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee and the Senate Ethics Committee that Dodd did in fact know he got sweetheart deals from a company that went on to lose billions of dollars on home loans to credit-strapped borrowers. As the No. 1 recipient of...

"Hey, you hear about this? Very strange incident at JFK Airport in New York City today. An AIG executive going through security had to empty out all his pockets. You know what fell out? Senator Chris Dodd." --Jay Leno

April 2, 2009 - Dodd Falls Way Behind As Approval Drops To Lowest Ever, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Are Angry At AIG Bonuses And Blame Dodd Word format Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd trails former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, a possible Republican challenger, 50 - 34 percent in the 2010 Senate race, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today, as voters disapprove 58 - 33 percent of the job the Democratic incumbent is doing, his lowest approval rating ever. Matched against two other possible Republican challengers, Sen. Dodd trails both State Sen. Sam Caligiuri 41 - 37 percent and...

After being widely derided for being asleep at the switch while folks like Bernard Madoff gradually stole tens of billions of dollars from unwitting clients, the SEC is now targeting subprime lenders, hedge funds and home builders. Imagine what kind of mixer that group would throw! From a BuilderOnline.com story: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has been roundly chided for not uncovering several high-profile investment fraud schemes, is getting more aggressive. It now has launched a series of investigations focusing on subprime lenders, hedge funds, and home builders.“The SEC is fully committed to addressing the [economic] crisis,”...

An Oversight and Government Reform Committee Republican report Countrywide Financial Corporation’s infamous VIP and Friends of Angelo Program offers new insight into the inner workings of Countrywide’s efforts to buy friends in critical government and industry positions affecting the company’s business interests. “This investigation finds that Countrywide embarked in a determined and calculated effort to buy influence – employees openly weighed the political influence of targeted officials when deciding what perks to offer,” said Issa. “Countrywide VIPs in positions of key responsibility didn’t innocently stumble into loans with reduced rates and waived fees – they were recruited into the program...

Washington -- Executives at Countrywide Financial Corp., one of the biggest names of the housing boom, routinely violated internal company policies to provide below-market rates on home loans to the politically connected and powerful, according to a congressional report to be released today. Loan documents show how far Calabasas-based Countrywide went to give loans to VIPs through a special program known as "Friends of Angelo," named after former Chief Executive Angelo R. Mozilo, according to congressional investigators. ... Recipients of special loans included Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), former U.N. Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, former Fannie...

Stunning Blunder Just Another Strand In Web Of Explanations. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd went one contrivance too far last week at his carefully choreographed press event to explain his mortgage deals with Countrywide Financial. Dodd has engaged in so many contradictions in trying to manage the gathering storm that he probably did not recognize his stunning blunder. At his Monday event, Dodd wouldn't let reporters have copies of the selected documents he let them glimpse. Instead, Dodd released a report from a Chicago firm hired with campaign funds to review his mortgage transactions. The report is carefully constructed to vindicate...

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd went one contrivance too far last week at his carefully choreographed press event to explain his mortgage deals with Countrywide Financial. Dodd has engaged in so many contradictions in trying to manage the gathering storm that he probably did not recognize his stunning blunder. At his Monday event, Dodd wouldn't let reporters have copies of the selected documents he let them glimpse. Instead, Dodd released a report from a Chicago firm hired with campaign funds to review his mortgage transactions. The report is carefully constructed to vindicate the Dodds and even make them appear to have...

An Illinois court will eventually decide if Governor Rod Blagojevich is guilty of corruption. But on at least one issue he is more law-abiding than Majority Leader Harry Reid and fellow Democrats: the seating of Roland Burris to replace Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. Mr. Blagojevich appointed Mr. Burris to represent Illinois on Tuesday, ahead of the official start of the 111th Congress next week. This was certainly an act of brash defiance given that nearly everyone had warned the Governor not to do so after he was heard on tape contemplating the sale of the seat for personal...

Transition: Jamie Gorelick may be back, this time as attorney general. It was her "wall of separation" that that left us blind pre-9/11. And let's not forget her admirable service at Fannie Mae.Not many people can claim to have been at the center of arguably the greatest financial disaster and greatest national security disaster in American history. But Gorelick, said to be on the short list for attorney general by the New York Times, can. Surely that qualifies her for further government service. Gorelick earned an estimated $26 million serving as vice chair of Fannie Mae from 1998 to 2003....

The Illinois attorney general is suing Countrywide Financial, the troubled mortgage lender, and Angelo R. Mozilo, its chief executive, contending that the company and its executives defrauded borrowers in the state by selling them costly and defective loans that quickly went into foreclosure. The lawsuit, which is expected to be filed on Wednesday in Illinois state court, accused Countrywide and Mr. Mozilo of relaxing underwriting standards, structuring loans with risky features, and misleading consumers with hidden fees and fake marketing claims, like its heavily advertised “no closing costs loan.” Countrywide also created incentives for its employees and brokers to sell...