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Where in the world is Chris Dodd?

By Michelle Malkin  •  June 17, 2008 11:58 AM

Yooo-hoooo. Knock-knock. Anybody home? The calls for an investigation into the unscrupulous Democrat borrower friends of Angelo Mozilo (Democrat Sens. Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad, former Obama VP advisor and Democrat insider Jim Johnson, Clinton Democrat officials Donna Shalala, Richard Holbrooke, and Franklin Raines, plus former Bush HUD secretary Alphonso Jackson) are piling up. Conrad at least made a lame and disingenuous attempt to address the issue.

But Sen. Chris Dodd is hiding under the bed:

Unlike his colleague from North Dakota, Sen. Kent Conrad, who spoke at length about the accusations he’d received special bargains on Countrywide Financial Corp. home loans because of his Senate position, Sen. Chris Dodd hasn’t said much about the similar reports about his loans.

Dodd, whose 2003 loans for his homes in DC and Connecticut apparently went through a special “VIP” program set up by Countrywide’s CEO, has denied he knew about it, but he hasn’t said anything further.

You couldn’t get the guy to shut up about unscrupulous lenders until just a few weeks ago.

Funny, that.

Posted in: Subprime crisis

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Comments

  1. #1
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:00 pm, jlibertarian said:

    He’s closing on a new house.

  2. #2
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:04 pm, ACHefty said:

    Must be nice — being able to drag people before your panel for a political lynching and then conveniently going into hiding when the spotlight is reflected back.

  3. #3
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:05 pm, Straight_Talk_Luigi said:

    Can the democrats give me money? I’m poor.

  4. #4
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:05 pm, letget said:

    Chris chatting with bho to see if he can get sec. of finance when bho is elected president.
    L

  5. #5
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:08 pm, RedDog said:

    The weasels will be running the hen house soon. G_d help us all.

  6. #6
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:10 pm, MNUSMCDavid said:

    Dodd is in a tizzy I suspect. Does he take the advice of the Obamasama spin meisters or the Clintonista spin meisters. What to do , what to do?

  7. #7
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:10 pm, khan said:

    Ethical congress? Come on, Pelosi, put your money where your mouth is…just like Dodd did.

  8. #8
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:11 pm, MrOlympia said:

    My posts about Chris Dodd are always the same…..POS! (Piece Of Shit)

  9. #9
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:11 pm, puhiawa said:

    Unscrupulous Borrowers, and all Democrats

  10. #10
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:12 pm, 30 pcs of silver said:

    I thought you knew that the rules only applied to the little people. I’ll be sure to pass along that you didn’t get the memo… in order to avoid this confusion in the future.

  11. #11
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:13 pm, William Amos said:

    Heck Obama got help from Rezko to get his house its not like he hasnt been hiding either.

  12. #12
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:13 pm, walterc said:

    BTW, you looked great on F&F this morning Michelle. And what’s his name was surprisingly civil . . .and he agreed with you that these guys sitting on banking & finance committees should be able to come up with a better answer than “I didn’t know I was getting special treatment”. I was expecting some serious blogger bashing. Or at least a Cracker comment.

  13. #13
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:14 pm, rambler said:

    Just another case of “the rules don’t apply to me”.

  14. #14
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:15 pm, docflash said:

    Chickens! meet Roost.

  15. #15
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:16 pm, geminicontender said:

    Impeach them all…..starting to sound like a lib now….ow.

  16. #16
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:19 pm, GladzKravtz said:

    No Mortgage Bailouts
    Drill Drill Drill
    Finish the Fence
    Finish the job in Iraq
    Public School Vouchers
    and….Term Limits!!!

    rant over…

  17. #17
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:25 pm, oldcollegeguy1980 said:

    Culture of Corruption

    Business as Usual

  18. #18
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:28 pm, ezupirate75 said:

    Hiding under his desk wondering when or if it will blow over.

  19. #19
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:29 pm, jtex said:

    If these two idiots were, as they claim, unaware of the special deal they were getting, that should be grounds for removal from office.
    What a load of B.S.

    .

  20. #20
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:32 pm, ajmontana said:

    Where in the world is Chris Dodd?

    emptying his freezer. :shock:

  21. #21
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:38 pm, J S Ragman said:

    #19 aj

    Now that’s funny, there. I don’t care who you are.

  22. #22
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:38 pm, jsr said:

    If nothing else, this should at least shut up some of those loud mouth braying Dems (of which Dodd is the epitome) for a while about unscrupulous, predatory lenders. Although in the end they will just find another target for their venom. Hard-working, productive Americans are never safe when Dems have a cause or need a distraction from their own misdeeds.

  23. #23
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:41 pm, Rogue Cheddar said:

    That’s not the Chris Dodd I know!

  24. #24
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:41 pm, tre said:

    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:12 pm, 30 pcs of silver said:
    I thought you knew that the rules only applied to the little people. I’ll be sure to pass along that you didn’t get the memo… in order to avoid this confusion in the future.

    30, that would be funny if it didn’t seem to be so true.
    We REALLY need to remember in the Old Testament, God held the leaders to a higher standard than He held the common Israelites.

  25. #25
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:43 pm, mngirl said:

    …..as I’m sure MM can attest, educating the wider public is so difficult. I have been posting on local newspaper sites that Conrad’s “benefit” is not only $10k, its $300k. I hope he signed up to make that little donation annually because with a 1% drop in interest rate that Mozilo bought for him, he continues to benefit each year that he holds the mortgage.

    (1% x $1M x 30 yrs) = $300k

    Conrad is Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and sits on the Finance Committee; he can do this math, he’d just like us to think its all taken care of. Move along, nothing else to see here……..

  26. #26
    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:50 pm, GladzKravtz said:

    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:38 pm, jsr said:
    If nothing else, this should at least shut up some of those loud mouth braying Dems (of which Dodd is the epitome) for a while about unscrupulous, predatory lenders. Although in the end they will just find another target for their venom…..

    Check out the comments on Huffington’s post….they are rationalizing…no big deal, happens all the time in the industry….he didn’t ‘know’ he was getting a good deal…….blah…

  27. #27
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:09 pm, jsr said:

    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:50 pm, GladzKravtz said:

    Check out the comments on Huffington’s post….they are rationalizing…no big deal, happens all the time in the industry….he didn’t ‘know’ he was getting a good deal…….blah…

    I usually have to brace myself with good stiff drink before venturing there, and it is way too early for that. Have they managed to blame it on Bush yet?

  28. #28
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:11 pm, Papa Louie said:

    Another example of an Al Gore Democrat: “Do as I say not as I do”
    I’m beginning to wonder if there is any other kind.

  29. #29
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:12 pm, JennyBea said:

    Chris Dodd is an ass. I doubt any of you area aware, but he ABANDONED Connecticut during the primaries, he moved to Ohio and enrolled his chioldren in school there, to try to win that state. He’s a CT Senator! He just stopped doing his job, altogether. I mean altogether. he decided that doing the job the people trusted him with wasn’t what he really wanted to do, but while collecting his paycheck, he went to campaign in other states- with the kids in school there. (Nevermind having to move those kids, and the whole new-friends troube…been there and it’s not fun)

    He should be voted out and never allowed tohold public office again.

  30. #30
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:12 pm, bradley said:

    I can see Dodd as Secretary of the Treasury under a Hopenchange administration. Makes perfect sense for the Democrats, just like they put Barbara Boxer on the House Banking Committee right after she was caught bouncing over 750 checks on the House bank just prior to election back in the 1990s.

  31. #31
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:14 pm, Boomer said:

    I’m surprised he is laying low. After all from what I’ve seen of corrupt Democrats it is a badge of honor. For a Republican you are required to give up your committee seat and in most cases resign in disgrace unless you have a wide stance. ;)

  32. #32
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:15 pm, Barry F. said:

    On June 17th, 2008 at 12:05 pm, letget said:

    Chris chatting with bho to see if he can get sec. of finance when bho is elected president.

    L

    Oh. I thought he was in the running for HUD Secretary to replace Alphonso Jackson. ;-)

  33. #33
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:18 pm, SpeakEasy said:

    This an area the Republicans are weak in; This should be the main topic of every news interview for the next month.
    Why do we let them off the hook?

    Exactly the fallacy libs make with terrorists: If we treat them nicely they will act in kind.

    In the words of Dr. Phil, “How’s that workin’ out for you?”

  34. #34
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:19 pm, Barry F. said:

    Oh, wait! Maybe I was wrong. I don’t seen “Secure special VIP loan from Countrywide CEO” on the HUD brochure Looking For The Best Mortgage.

  35. #35
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:20 pm, WarTip said:

    As long as he ignores it and refuses to comment and the people remain apathetic about the crimes committed by the most ethical congress in history (with the ratings to prove it) and then … still re-elect these people,

    IT NEVER HAPPENED!

    Political partying above we the people.

  36. #36
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:21 pm, GladzKravtz said:

    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:09 pm, jsr said
    Have they managed to blame it on Bush yet?

    Not at the time I read it, but you know I had to stop reading. My laptop sensed a spike in my blood pressure and took a snooze…

  37. #37
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:32 pm, Die Hippie, Die said:

    Where in the world is Chris Dodd?

    With Ted Kennedy at the Springfield Retirement Castle trying to assemble one last waitress sandwich?

  38. #38
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:35 pm, jsr said:

    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:19 pm, Barry F. said:

    That pamphlet has all the info anybody needs to make a good decision about a mortgage, and there a million time as much available on the internet. Yet people claim they were duped and didn’t understand what they were getting into. To me, this is hard evidence that these people are functionally illiterate. Which is why Obama wants to create a nice, easy to understand ranking system using one to five stars. No big words (like adjustable), or hard to understand math concept (like interest) to confuse things. Just nice, simple little stars that even Democrats can understand.

  39. #39
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:47 pm, conservative247 said:

    Since Dodd got a 30 year mortgage in 2003 with the first five years fixed, I’m wondering what month Dodd will slide into the “adjustable rate” category and what his new payments will jump to.

    I’ve posted more here, but he may have gotten a better deal over the life of the loan if he got a low rate around 5.2 percent in 2003 for a regular fixed deal.

    The deal is the deal, and I’m not saying that we are making too much about this, but the real problem is professional politicians that serve for years and years without term limits - they eventually have rock star status and this type of crap will happen - to Republicans and Democrats.

    Portfolio.com indicates that the regular rate was discounted between 3/8 and 5/8 of a point for the properties.

    When I was shopping for mortgages, I was offered rates that varied up to 5/8 of a point on 30 year fixed mortgages in 2004/2005. So maybe he did not know he was getting a special rate?

    But if he hung out with the CEO on a regular basis or called him, he’s a liar.

    Additional questions…
    - Did he get special treatment during the qualification process?
    - What is his total family income?
    - With that income (his wife’s plus is $170k) would he qualify for 875k in mortgages?
    - What is the value of the two homes?

    Lots of questions here.

    What I really do not like is politicians being on a VIP list of any kind.

  40. #40
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:49 pm, Lan Astaslem said:

    The picture on the front page bears a resemblance to Al Franken. Maybe he is Al Franken! Neither one seems to understand money…

  41. #41
    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:53 pm, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

    With any luck Chris Dodd is in Hell, but I imagine he is just laying low at the moment. Or he may be trying to cut a deal for Bro Hussein to make him HUD Secretary so he can get really BIG loans. And all this time I thought Chris Dodd was only an accomplished liar. He is multitalented; Chris Dodd is both an accomplished liar and a thief as well. Hell can wait I guess.

  42. #42
    On June 17th, 2008 at 2:01 pm, cabrerski said:

    Everytime I hear a politician (from either side of the aisle) claim ignorance or feign selective memory loss, I think back to the old joke…

    A sales manager posts a new edict for his salesmen. “At lunch, all salesman are allowed to drink as they much, as long it is not vodka.” Of course, this puzzled the staff and at the next meeting, the manager was questioned about it.

    “It’s simple. You cannot smell vodka on the breath. And I would rather have our customers think that our employees are drunk, rather than stupid.”

    So belly-up to the bar, Congress (there’s more room now that Teddy is recovering).

  43. #43
    On June 17th, 2008 at 2:13 pm, Larraby said:

    As the selfdeclared historian for the MM web site, let me mention another Chris Dodd scandal that he has buried in the past. The year was 1978 and Chris Dodd was a young US Representative from the 2nd congressional district in Connecticut. In the fall of 1978, there was a Democratic Party miniconvention in Tennessee. It was either in Nashville or Memphis, I forget which one. Chris Dodd was there and decided to go to a local doughnut shop. Perhaps inebriated, Dodd got into a food fight with a friend in the doughnut shop. Dodd and his friend began ordering doughnuts by the dozens and Dodd and his friend began making a huge mess of the doughnut shop and then decided to skedaddle without paying for the doughnuts. When the local media got wind of the story, Dodd belatedly paid for the doughnuts and the cleanup. This was the first glimpse of the Dodd moral compass. It is not that much of a leap from hightailing it out of a doughnut shop to getting a sweetheart loan from Countrywide. Notice that Dodd refuses to say who was his original contact person at Countrywide. In all probability, Dodd called Jim Johnson and Johnson called Angelo Mozilo and the fix was in. Notice also that Dodd refuses to release the mortgage documents and refuses to authorize Countrywide to release it’s internal Countrywide documents. Yet because Dodd is a certified liberal, CNN won’t ask the tough questions. The NY Times won’t ask the tough questions either.

  44. #44
    On June 17th, 2008 at 2:37 pm, Freddy said:

    When Dodd initially claimed he was not even aware he had a loan from countrywide, it was clear to me this story will never end for him.

  45. #45
    On June 17th, 2008 at 3:05 pm, BrianNY said:

    Give Dodd the same scrutiny that former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland received.

    Dodd apparently received 75k in the form of a VIP “gift” from Countrywide’s CEO, an organization that Dodd oversees in a regulatory capacity. Now, Dodd says he knew nothing about it.

    Rowland was sentenced to 16 months of prison and house arrest for accepting 100k in gifts from contractors that the State did business with.

    If Dodd is exonerated, he clears his name. If he is found to have lied about knowingly accepting his 75k gift, send him to trial.

  46. #46
    On June 17th, 2008 at 3:44 pm, meatpieandtatters said:

    Dodd is a world-class Assclown of Bozoian proportions.

  47. #47
    On June 17th, 2008 at 4:25 pm, twoninerkilo said:

    I’m still waiting here, with the rope.

  48. #48
    On June 17th, 2008 at 5:43 pm, vickisoup said:

    Stick a fork in him….he’s done.

  49. #49
    On June 17th, 2008 at 8:37 pm, drfredc said:

    Dem corruption,
    The media can ignore,
    oBORGama infatuation,
    The media can roar.

  50. #50
    On June 18th, 2008 at 12:02 am, jaaakemm said:

    Perhaps Senator Dodd is using his private time to contemplate new permutations of the waitress sandwich. Using of course, his keen senses to sharply focus his mind’s eye to that just right combination of himself, the Swimmer and of course that all important component the waitress.

    Yea! … that’s the ticket. He and the Swimmer can become the genesis of a rejuvenated worldwide waitress sandwich craze that they can cash in on and then Dodd can payoff his pals a Countrywide for his sweetheart loans.

    No confirmation yet on who gets to play the tomato-side or pickle-side of the bun.

  51. #51
    On June 18th, 2008 at 7:15 am, Die Hippie, Die said:

    On June 17th, 2008 at 1:53 pm, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

    With any luck Chris Dodd is in Hell,

    Word on da street is that his cats keep trying to bury him in the sandbox.

  52. #52
    On June 18th, 2008 at 12:35 pm, Larraby said:

    CSpan played the tape of the indignant Dodd press conference. Dodd was outraged that anyone could or would question Dodd’s moral superiority. Dodd was asked if he knew anything about being on the Countrywide “VIP List”. Dodd fessed up that his wife Jackie knew about it (Don’t you love when politicians throw their wives under the bus!) Then Dodd said that he “assumed” that the VIP list was for every borrower who had previously obtained a Countrywide loan and was refinancing with Countrywide. How stupid does Dodd think people? There are millions of Americans who took out an initial mortgage from Countrywide and later refinanced with Countrywide. As Senate banking committee chairman, does Dodd actually believe that he was but one of millions of people who were on the VIP list? If he believes that, then he is truly stupid. Then Dodd said that he thought the VIP list only meant that he could “talk to a real person when we called, not just a voice message system”. That is even dumber. Most borrowers from Countrywide use the local Countrywide office that is usually in a strip mall. Most people deal with the people in that local office. Pick up the phone and they answer it. His claim about getting to talk to “a real person” is downright stupid, as Senator Dodd apparently is also.

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