[quoted without permission from King Features Syndicate. To report this fair use of an excerpt of this copyrighted material, please contact: kfsreprint@hearstsc.com, or phone 800-708-7311, ext 246]
What an unfortunate coincidence: An innocent loan inquiry and Sen. Conrad gets put on the phone with a CEO with myriad high-stakes interests before Congress. Most people asking about their mortgages don't get put through to the CEO, but they don't live with the burdens of senatordom. Conrad was particularly vulnerable because, apparently a financial naif, he's only chairman of the Senate Budget Committee that sets the parameters for the $3 trillion federal budget.
Countrywide waived a one-point fee for Conrad on a 2004 loan and financed his purchase of an eight-unit apartment building even though the company usually didn't finance the purchase of buildings with more than four units. Yes, unbeknownst to him, Conrad had been maneuvered into saving more than $10,000: "I did not think for one moment — and no one ever suggested to me — that I was getting preferential treatment."
Dastardly Countrywide had given it to him anyway. No wonder Democrats have condemned Countrywide so loudly (Sen. Chuck Schumer: "a vulture mentality"; Sen. Barack Obama: "these executives crossed the line"). But Conrad got off easy, considering the misfortune of his colleague Dodd.
The Connecticut senator has been saddled with favors that may save him as much as $75,000 on his mortgages. Dodd says he knew he was part of a VIP program, but figured it was nothing unusual — who in the senate is not "very important"? Dodd can be forgiven his lack of curiosity given that he's very busy as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and can't be bothered with questions of who might be trying to influence him with which particular favors.
To his credit, Dodd holds no grudges. Even though Countrywide so badly served him by shaving points off his loans, he is honchoing a $300 billion mortgage bail-out bill that will benefit Countrywide by allowing it to unload its worst loans onto the federal government. When duty calls, Dodd answers.
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