Here is the “Change You Can Believe in”
Posted by Ray on August 7, 2009 under Main | 
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Its time to send Mr. Dodd home for good. There is no way he had no idea he was getting a good deal. When someone says your getting the V.I.P. deal, you know you are getting something no one else was getting. So, either Chriss Dodd is the dumbest person in the world or he knew he was getting a good deal. Either way, he has to go. Here is the Story from Bloomberg:
Ethics Panel Clears Dodd in Countrywide Refinancing (Update2)
By Jonathan D. Salant
Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) — The Senate Ethics Committee said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd of Connecticut and fellow Democrat Kent Conrad of North Dakota didn’t violate ethics rules in refinancing their home mortgages with Countrywide Financial Corp.
The panel said today it found “no substantial credible evidence” that the mortgages violated Senate ethics rules.
Even so, the committee, which includes equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, said both senators should have “exercised more vigilance” to “avoid the appearance” of preferential treatment.
Dodd, who faces re-election next year and whose committee oversees the mortgage industry, claimed vindication.
“There was no ‘sweetheart’ or special deal; the allegations are and have always been false,” Dodd said in a statement. “I hope that today’s dismissal will go a long way towards restoring the bond of trust and confidence that I’ve worked long and hard to build with the people of our state.”
Conrad called findings “welcome news” in a statement. “While I should have shown more vigilance in the appearance of these transactions, the committee has concluded I did nothing unethical, and that is the truth,” he said.
The complaint against the senators was brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group. CREW executive director Melanie Sloan said Dodd and Conrad were cleared of wrongdoing “despite the fact that the senators participated in a program the committee found ‘offered quicker, more efficient loan processing and some discounts.’”
‘Friends’ of Mozilo
Both senators were put into Countrywide’s VIP program and were designated by the company as “friends” of former chief executive officer Angelo Mozilo, who founded the company and served as its head until last year. The committee found that neither Dodd nor Conrad received special treatment, that their mortgages were in line with offers from competing companies, and that they didn’t obtain any benefits by virtue of their elected offices.
Dodd, 65, said he assumed the VIP program was simply a courtesy for customers. Conrad, the Senate Budget Committee chairman, also denied receiving favorable treatment.
Dodd, first elected to his seat in 1980, is the only Democratic senator currently in danger of losing re-election next year, political analysts say. Three Washington-based organizations that rate congressional races — Congressional Quarterly, the Rothenberg Political Report and the Cook Political Report — say the race is a tossup.
Through June 30, Dodd had $1.8 million in his campaign bank account, more than double that reported by his leading Republican challenger, former Representative Rob Simmons.
Conrad, 61, faces re-election in 2012. He first won his Senate seat in 1986.
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