Christopher Dodd is going to refinance his sweetheart mortgage:
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, whose two mortgages with a troubled lender are under a Senate ethics investigation, said Monday he will refinance them.
Sen. Dodd said he sought no special treatment from Countrywide Financial Corp., when he refinanced his Washington and East Haddam, Conn., homes in 2003. Sen. Dodd has acknowledged participating in a VIP program at Countrywide, which he thought referred to upgraded customer service, not reduced rates. . .
The bank, a leading subprime lender at the center of the mortgage meltdown, was sold to Bank of America Corp. last year and has been the focus of allegations that it gave favorable loan terms to lawmakers. . .
Sen. Dodd, whose committee has oversight over the mortgage and banking industries, faced heavy criticism in his home state for not releasing details of his mortgages when the controversy erupted last year. . .
The terms of the mortgages are under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee.
“I just wanted to put this behind us,” said Sen. Dodd, speaking to reporters in his Hartford office. . .
Sen. Dodd played a key role in crafting the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan, which allows the government to spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets from troubled financial institutions.
(Via the Corner, via Instapundit.)
Is “I’ll give it back” a defense for bribery now?
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