scandal

Chris Dodd's effort to commandeer the health care system so as to provide a trillion dollar memorial to his BFF Teddy Kennedy hit a little speed bump this afternoon.

Remember Robert Feinberg, Angelo Mozilo's go to guy at Countrywide Mortgage about greasing VIP's

Well, his testimony before the Senate Ethics Committee and a House Committee  got leaked to the AP. And it's not pretty.

Countrywide VIPs, Feinberg told the committees, received discounts on rates, fees and points. Dodd received a break when Countrywide counted both his Connecticut and Washington homes as primary owner-occupied residences -- a fiction, according to Feinberg. Conrad received a type of commercial loan that he was told Countrywide didn't offer.

Hmm, Dodd got the owner-occupied mortgage rates on BOTH the Connecticut house and the DC house even though obviously only one could be a "principal residence".  And who said they didn;t get a "sweetheart deal"? 

Maybe that was the "enhanced customer service" Dodd talks about.  And maybe it's time Dodd post the actual loan documents and loan applications on the Internet. But then again, if both applications said they were for a "principal residence" they the good Senator better hope he didn't mail or fax them.

Dodd spent a million dollars to firm up his party base support and lose ground in the ballot tests in recent weeks. And that was with Countrywide and the Irish Cottage being pretty much in remission.  Now , once again "it's all further proof that Sen. Dodd's candidacy remains toxic."

I haven't seen Rob Simmons's reaction , but Sam Caligiuri was all over this

  Connecticut cannot afford to once again endure the scandals of a leader who has been corrupted by the trappings of power.  If this testimony is true, Senator Dodd's resignation is in order, because he not only did wrong, he covered it up.   

The Republican State Chairman is all over thist too, pointing out this little gem.

Asked by a House investigator if Conrad, the North Dakota senator, "was aware that he was getting preferential treatment?" Feinberg answered: "Yes, he was aware." Referring to Dodd, the investigator asked: "And do you know if during the course of your communications" with the senator or his wife "that you ever had an opportunity to share with them if they were getting special VIP treatment?" "Yes, yes," Feinberg replied.

 Grab the popcorn! One blogger tonight suggested "Nutmeg State Democrats are likely to get even more nervous about Mr. Dodd’s chances in November 2010"

In the excerpts from hearings to investigate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's illegal bookkeeping, Rep Richard Baker (R-LA) says "It is indeed a very troubling report, but it is a report of extraordinary importance not only to those who wish to own a home but to the taxpayers of this country who would pay the cost of a clean-up of an enterprise failure. The analysis makes clear that more resources must be brought to bear to ensure the high standards of conduct are not only required, but more importantly, they are actually met."

Rep Maxine Waters (D-CA): "Through nearly a dozen hearings where, frankly, we were trying to fix something that wasn't broke..." [no pun intended there, I'm quite sure]

This is a long video, but well worth the effort. It clearly indicates Republicans attempting to oversee and obtain accountability for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with complete resistance on the part of Democrats. One of the most chilling scenes involves the praise heaped upon the now completely discredited (and sacked) Obama campaign advisor and former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines. When questioned as to why Fannie Mae's capital had fallen below the absolute minum level of 5%, Franklin Raines said "These investments are so riskless that the capital for holding them should be under 2%".

Note: there are already 800 comments on YouTube for this video. As of this post, it's only been up for two days.

The details of the alleged "Troopergate Scandal" are now well known. While Gov. Sarah Palin says that she fired former Commissioner of Public Safety, Walt Monegan, because of insubordination on budget issues as well as other differences on the direction of the public safety agenda in Alaska, many have contended that Palin let Monegan go because he refused to fire a state trooper who happened to be the ex-husband of Palin's sister. (The Anchorage Daily News has set up a timeline of stories related to Troopergate.)

I've been following this story since July. And while I'm not one to judge this investigation, I have a great deal of respect for both Gov. Palin and Walt Monegan, a person who has been in law enforcement for over three decades and is well respected within the public safety community. This investigation needs to happen and the facts need to be brought out to light because serious allegations against Gov. Palin's staff have been made. But Palin's selection as Sen. McCain's VP nominee has accelerated and catalyzed excessive partisanship that has tainted this serious investigation, and has made it impossible for Gov. Palin's administration to get a fair hearing. I decided to do a little investigating of my own.

Promoted. -Patrick

Twenty-eight members have signed onto a letter to Nancy Pelosi on members of Congress receiving preferential treatment in the "Friends of Angelo" program.

Thus, we demand that the House of Representatives undertake an investigation with open hearings to determine: (1) the validity of these charges, (2) whether the described practices were widespread, (3) the extent to which this scandal might have affected public policy, and (4) what steps might be necessary to assure the public that elected officials do not receive such preferential treatment in the future.

And later, they connect it to ordinary Americans:

At a time when millions of Americans are struggling to repay their mortgage debts while coping with $4/gallon gasoline and soaring foods prices, they will be outraged to learn that some Members of Congress may have personally profited from their official positions through secret sweetheart deals on their mortgages.

While the GOP house isn't exactly in order on corruption, the Democrats have traditionally put them to shame when it comes to shady backroom deals.  Democratic corruption was one of the paths to power for the GOP in 1994, and if we can get serious about our own ethics, we may yet again gain the high ground.