A Democratic committee chairman overrode his own subpoena three years ago in an investigation of former subprime mortgage lender Countrywide to exclude records showing that he, other House members and congressional aides got VIP discounted loans from the company, documents show. Go To Site

Angelo picked his friends well. Dodd chairs the Banking Committee, and the $58,000 Countrywide saved him by giving him a below-market interest rate probably served the lender well in keeping their misdeeds below the radar screen. It went well with the $21,000 in campaign contributions Dodd received from Countrywide. Go To Site

When Darrell Issa took over the chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee after the Republican landslide in the 2010 midterms, most people assumed that his rhetoric about restoring the proper role of oversight was nothing but a philosophic cover for attacking Barack Obama and his administration. A new report this week shows that Issa’s job was a lot broader and a lot tougher than people imagined. His predecessor, the now-retiring Edolphus Towns (D-NY), covered up his own ties to Countrywide Mortgage and those of his colleagues and their aides in Congress while supposedly investigating how the defunct lender escaped scrutiny for so many years of negligent and fraudulent operation. Go To Site

Democrat, Character, Financial, Scandal, Corruption

A Democratic committee chairman overrode his own subpoena three years ago in an investigation of former subprime mortgage lender Countrywide 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. The effort at secrecy was reversed when Towns' Republican successor as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, California Rep. Darrell Issa, issued a second subpoena.

Democrat, Financial, Corruption

Issa did not name the four members who received the loans in his letter to Ethics, but Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), the former chairman of Oversight and Government Reform, has acknowledged receiving two loans through the VIP program. Towns has stated that he was not aware of his inclusion in the program, known as “Friends of Angelo” within Countrywide.

Democrat, Editorial, Government, Incompetence, Financial, Scandal

What we know is that Senators Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad were among the VIPs who received sweetheart mortgages under the "Friends of Angelo" program. What we don't know is how many other government officials also received such favors, or what exactly Countrywide expected in return.

Democrat, Liberal, Financial, Scandal

Angelo picked his friends well. Dodd chairs the Banking Committee, and the $58,000 Countrywide saved him by giving him a below-market interest rate probably served the lender well in keeping their misdeeds below the radar screen. It went well with the $21,000 in campaign contributions Dodd received from Countrywide.

Democrat, Scandal

The Portfolio account of Countrywide's VIP loan program names Chris Dodd, early Obama backer Kent Conrad, and Richard Holbrooke as recipients of special loans through the firm's CEO.

And the details make clear that they were getting the sort of special treatment that's bound to infuriate people struggling with mortgages, though the senators both said they got competitive rates and Conrad says he wasn't aware of special treatment.

Democrat, Financial, Scandal

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.

Democrat, Government, Incompetence, Scandal

Countrywide Financial Corp.'s controversial "VIP" mortgage program made 153 loans to employees of Fannie Mae, the giant federally backed financial institution that helped fuel Countrywide's growth, according to a letter released Tuesday by Rep. Darrell Issa.

Another 20 such VIP loans, which often provided mortgages on terms more favorable than those available to the general public, went to employees of Freddie Mac, another big government-backed buyer of mortgage loans, the Issa letter said.

Democrat, Scandal

Rep Darryl Issa, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has issued his first subpoena. He has his sights set on Countrywide's involvement in the mortgage meltdown. Who will he find were friends of the CEO of Countrywide? Retired Sen Chris Dodd (D-CT) for one, Sen Kent Conrad (D-ND) and former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson. Who else in the government got favorable rates in exchange for a wink and a nod?