Friends of Angelo
July 9, 2012 8:15 AM
(Image: Bloomberg News)
Former Sen. Chris Dodd, the former Senate Banking Committee chairman, received discounts on Countrywide loans in 1999 and 2001, according to the report. A Dodd spokesman released a statement Thursday saying that Dodd was cleared of wrongdoing by the Senate Banking Committee and that there's no evidence that the mortgages he was offered were at lower than prevailing market rates. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Sen. Kent Conrad, the Senate Budget Committee chairman, received discounts or other special treatment on four loans between 2002 and 2004, the report said. Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat, responded in a statement that he never believed that he received preferential rates from Countrywide, since the rates he paid were the same ones listed in the Washington Post mortgage tables at the time. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Rep. Edolphus Towns, who was chairman of the House Oversight Committee when the committee's Republicans began their investigation, received two mortgages from Countywide's VIP loan unit in 2003, according to the report. A spokesman for the New York Democrat said Thursday that Towns did not knowingly receive preferential treatment, according to news reports. (Image: Bloomberg News)
Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, applied for a loan in 2007 that was processed by the Countrywide VIP unit, but Sessions asked not to receive a discount, and did not receive one, the report found. A spokeswoman for Sessions told the Dallas Morning News that the congressman asked not to receive a discount "out of an abundance of caution."
Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon refinanced a mortgage in 1998 and received a discount from Countrywide's VIP unit, the report found. McKeon's office responded that the California Republican was unaware of the "Friends of Angelo designation" and has been "completely upfront and transparent" about the loan, according to news reports.
Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., received a discount from Countrywide in 2004 on a home equity line of credit, the congressional report found. Gallegly's office responded in a statement that the congressman never asked for or was aware of preferential treatment, according to news reports.
Former Rep. Tom Campbell, R-Calif., had a loan processed by Countrywide's VIP unit in 1997, when he was a member of Congress, according to the report. Campbell told the San Jose Mercury News on Thursday that he never received any preference from Countywide and does not even recall getting a loan from the now-defunct mortgage lender. (Image: Bloomberg News)
