How Dodd Continues To Evade Responsibility For Countrywide...

Via Powerline.

Dodd Predictably Cleared By Senate Committee On Ethics

In what can only be described as anti-climatic, Barbara Boxer's Senate Committee on Ethics declared in a letter on August 7 that even though Chris Dodd was part of a VIP program at Countrywide that "often offered quicker, more efficient loan processing and some discounts" to it's members, he was not in violation of the Senate ethics rules.

Here's what I don't get: no one seems to dispute that Dodd was part of the VIP program due to his status as a US Senator, and being a part of the VIP program got him enhanced customer service (which has a value) and discounts. These benefits were clearly not available to the public at large, or else it would not be a "VIP" program, it would be a "P" program. He got a better deal because he was a Senator then he would have gotten otherwise. If that is not in violation of Senate ethics rules, then the rules are deficient. Not only does it provide an appearance of impropriety, as even the Senate Cover-up Committee found, but it is actual impropriety.

If ethics are defined solely by the U.S. Senate, then maybe Chris Dodd acted ethically. If, however, they have more to do with a moral compass, character and/or common sense, he has been found wanting.

And, oh yeah, he still hasn't kept his promise to release the records of his mortgages publicly so someone other than friends and colleagues can see them.

Additional coverage and commentary can be found at CT News Junkie, Michelle Malkin, Bloomberg, Washington Post, CNBC, Boston Globe, New York Times, and Libertarian Advocate.

4:1 Odds On "Friend Of Dodd" Indictment

Portfolio magazine put together a list of the most likely former CEO's to end up getting indicted, and the list included none other than Countrywide's Anthony Mozilo, the now-infamous Friend of Dodd who curried favor with numerous politicians by providing them VIP deals on mortgages.

Angelo Mozilo, Former CEO, Countrywide
Legal issue: The company faced predatory lending charges from about 11 state attorneys general. Mozilo is accused of fraudulently misleading investors about credit risks
Possible charges: Securities fraud and insider trading.
The PR headache: No executive embodies the subprime crisis more than Mozilo. The public seems hell-bent on holding someone accountable.
The investigation: The SEC and FBI are all over Countrywide, probing Mozilo’s trading in company stock and the company’s financial disclosures.
Jury deliberation: “This guy’s managed to make himself public enemy No. 1.” ... “The subprime people did a great injury to this country. These guys were selling junk beyond junk. Mozilo’s on the wrong side of a very difficult issue.”
Odds of prosecution: 4:1
The verdict: The smart money bets against Mozilo.

Fortunately for Mozilo, his good friend Chris Dodd has a history of securing Presidential pardons for felons who are willing to hook him up.

HT National Review Online.

Off The Wire: Dodd, Arthur Andersen, And More On His Irish Cottage

Instapundit links to an article from Jewish World Review in January, 2002, highlighting questionable associations Chris Dodd had tied to Arthur Anderson and the Enron collapse. In light of this same type of behavior with Countrywide and others in more recent times, a pattern seems to be appearing.

While many candidates of both parties have received campaign contributions from Enron and its self-serving "independent auditor" Arthur Andersen, very few have passionately fought their cause in Washington as diligently as Chris Dodd. Dodd has received more money from Artur Andersen than any other Democrat - $54,843.00 - and has aggressively worked to insulate Artur Anderson and other accounting firms from liability to defrauded investors in cases like Enron.

Read the whole thing.

Also, there's an article in the Telegraph on Rennie's piece on Dodd's cottage in Ireland that has apparently been immune to the rise in property values that has been affecting the rest of the country.

Given the Irish property boom, a conservative estimate would be that the house would be worth approaching $1 million, and very possibly much more than that.

So why hasn't Dodd declared a more realistic true value of hte property? No doubt he didn't want to highlight the fact that he had a third splendid pile, to go along with his residences in DC and Connecticut, as he sought the presidency (remember how all those homes harmed John McCain?). Maybe he knew it would mean further scrutiny of his connection with the pardoned crook Downe.

Now that President Barack Obama - whom Dodd enthuisiastically endorsed for president over Hillary Clinton - has declared a new era of ethical government in Washington, his former colleague will order a fresh, long overdue reappraisal of its value. Or perhaps the Senate Ethics Committee will look into the matter.

Call me cynical, but I wouldn't advise you to hold your breath.

Neither would I.

Secret US Plan To Destroy Ukranian Economy Disclosed

How else can you explain this?

Washington, Jan. 27/PRNewswire/ - Senator Christopher J. Dodd is scheduled to give the keynote speech at a breakfast forum hosted by the Ukrainian Foundation for Effective Governance (FEG) and The Hill, on February 24 in Washington, D.C., announced Nataliya Izosimova, Managing Director of FEG.

[snip]

"The event, focusing on 'Building a Strong Economy for the Real Ukraine,' will further raise awareness of key economic issues affecting Ukraine," Izosimova stated. "Through our ongoing public discussions and the implementation of key economic projects, FEG is working to increase economic competitiveness and create an attractive investment environment for Ukraine."

What's he going to say? "Force your banks to throw money at people who you already know will never be able to repay it, don't allow the lenders to be adequately regulated, and while you're at it, collect hundreds of thousands of dollars for your self!"

Admittedly, I don't know that much about the Ukranian economy, but it must be in a sorry state if they are looking for advice from one of the architects of the collapse of the US economy (can you be an architect of a collapse, or is that an oxymoron?).

Perhaps he will be there as a cautionary tale of what can happen when politicians who are ethically challenged, ripe with conflicts of interest, and oblivious to the facts around them are in charge of your economy. In any event, pray for the Ukranians.

I wonder if they will ask him to lead a break-out group, like "The one word you need to know to to tank a bank's stock" or "How to arbitrarily set a limit on executive compensation and make it look principled."

(Slightly updated since originally posted on 1/27 when this was announced, but as Dodd's speech is tomorrow, I though it appropriate to re-post)

Dodd's Friday Meeting On How To Spin His Scandals? Opinions Solicited On Twitter

I was poking around on TweetDeck this afternoon when I saw the following two Tweets in my "Search: Dodd" window:

[ ] Sen Chris Dodd. Popularity declining amidst Countrywide scandalMeeting Friday w staff to brainstorm Any ideas to help spin this?

Suggestion on how to reestablish Chris Dodd's popularity after recent Countrywide scandal? Brainstorm session with his team on Friday. Help!

I replied, suggesting he resign. The following Tweet came in response, and the earlier two tweets were apparently deleted from the persons profile (I have the screenshot, just can't figure out how to post it):

How would you suggest Sen. Chris Dodd reestablish his popularity since the Countrywide scandal? Serious responses only, please.

If this "spin" meeting is scheduled as advertised, it would seem to indicate that the Dodd folks are getting a little worried about where they stand in the public eye, despite his repeated statements that he is unfazed by the swelling public disfavor. I am not sure that begging for ideas on Twitter is the best way to get PR advice on how to "spin" his involvement in scandal after scandal, though. He may want to try not doing things that are unethical or maybe apologize for flushing the economy down the toilet.

Do the Dodd people actually have a meeting scheduled for Friday? I don't know why a random Twitterer would make that up, but stranger things have happened, I suppose. A little internet research (LinkedIn, etc) on the name on the Twitter account showed someone with the same name/gender/age range in the area has a graphic design/PR background, so it could be.

In any event, if you have any great ideas for how Chris Dodd can repair his image in your eyes, you may want to relay them to the Senator's office before their Friday "brainstorming" session.

Off The Wire: More Reasons To Vote Dodd Out

I've been pretty sick with the flu (guess that flu shot wasn't all it's cracked up to be) since Wednesday, but I am trying to keep on top of things. Who would have known when I started this blog the day after the election that Dodd would provide so much material?

Anyway, a few items that caught my interest in the few minutes I was conscious over the past two days:

- Schiff's money-bomb is off and running today. As of 2:55 EST, they stand at $9,348, rapidly approaching their goal of $10k. The Courant has an article about Schiff today, and he answers a question some have asked, namely whether Schiff would run as a Republican, Libertarian or Independent.

If he were to run for Senate, Schiff said he would run as a Republican. "If I wanted to and put int the effort, I could probably get the Republican nomination, but I don't know if I want to," he said.

But what would be the point? "I don't need the power, the fame ... or the money," Schiff said. "I don't need those things. If I really thought I could make a difference, might I be willing to change careers? I might ... but there needs to be a bigger movement, there needs to be more candidates."

Seems a little presumptuous to just assume he would win the Republican nomination, especially if Simmons is in. We'll see.

- The Wall Street Journal takes a few shots at AG Blumenthal for his slobbering support of Dodd and statement that Dodd has done nothing wrong. As the piece points out:

It's interesting that the state's top lawyer can pronounce that there's no evidence of wrongdoing by Mr. Dodd, especially since Mr. Blumenthal told us this week that he has never investigated Dodd's Countrywide deals.

[snip]

Mr. Blumenthal's decision to stay out of the way of federal law enforcers contrasts with his approach when Republican Governor John Rowland and others were successfully prosecuted on federal corruption charges. In that case, Mr. Blumenthal was so zealous that in 2004 a state court judge temporarily blocked his civil suit after federal prosecutors claimed he was making it more difficult to prosecute the federal case.

It's not exactly comparing apples to apples, but the contrast is striking. Of course, Blumenthal had nothing to gain from backing Rowland, while he would need Dodd's support in 2012 were he to challenge Lieberman for his seat. The Everyday Republican's take can be found here.

- Chris Dodd has gotten to someone at the Kansas City Tribune (where's this level of outrage in the CT media?) with his accepting huge campaign contributions from the banking industry and then giving them a 258,000% return on their donations. A taste:

In my weeks of research into understanding how America went from economic lynchpin to a wayward ship drifting on a sea of economic trouble, I find myself baffled and appalled by statements from Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

His anger seems real enough. But the stench of hypocrisy reeks up the room every time he forgets to mention the hundreds of thousands of dollars he received in 2008 as campaign donations from these same banks, their management and employees - currently not under receivership of the U.S. taxpayer.

Read the whole thing.

- Finally, I never posted on Time's list of the 25 people to blame for the financial crisis (and I won't link to it, since it is a joke for not including Dodd and Frank; find it yourself). But Jack Dunphy, a frequent guest-contributer at Patterico's Pontifications, has. Read that post, and while you are there, bookmark the site. Good stuff on a regular basis.

Inside The Q Poll: For Dodd, At Least As Bad As The Headlines Suggest

Apparently, Connecticut voters are not the ignorant fools Chris Dodd takes them for. After electing and reelecting him to the US Senate for almost as long as Carter's CRA has been eating away at our economy, they are coming to their senses and appear poised to hold Dodd responsible for his actions by finally replacing him. The latest Quinnipiac poll was released today, and it paints a bleak picture for our senior senator:

A total of 42 percent of voters say they "definitely" or "probably" will vote to reelect Sen. Dodd in 2010, while 51 percent say the [sic] "probably won't" or "definitely won't" vote for him.

By a 54 - 24 margin, Connecticut voters say they are not satisfied with Sen. Dodd's explanation of allegations that he received preferential mortgage treatment and 56 percent of voters say they are less likely to vote for him because of this controversy.

"Sen. Dodd is vulnerable. His approval has sunk to a new low. More voters disapprove than approve of the job he is doing for the first time in 15 years of polling," Schwartz said. "The mortgage controversy has taken a toll on his approval rating. Most voters are not satisfied with Dodd's explanation and say they are less likely to vote for him next year because of it."

Let's look a little closer at the poll, which was conducted between February 5-8 (post-Dodd's concocted press conference) of 1,603 registered Connecticut voters, and has an MOE of 2.5%.


Question 14: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Chris Dodd is handling his job as United States Senator?

Dodd's approval number has plummeted to a mere 41, his lowest ever. Among Republicans, it is only 15, with Dems at 62 and Independents at 36. His over all approval percentage has dropped six points in less than two months.


Question 19:How likely are you to vote to re-elect Chris Dodd for United States Senator in 2010 - definitely, probably, probably not, or definitely not?

Overall results were 11 def/31 prob/19 prob not/32 def not. That puts him on the downside of a 41/52 positive/negative split. This continues the downward trend since July '08, which was soon after the mortgage story broke. He is getting absolutely crushed in Litchfield and Fairfield counties, and is closer but still in the negative in every other geographical area reported, though he is within a point in Hartford.


Question 20: Would you say that Chris Dodd is honest and trustworthy or not?

41 percent say Dodd is honest and trustworthy, and 42 percent say not so much. Only Hartford country gave him a positive result, at 45/37. Must be a high concentration of family and mortgage lenders in the capital city.


Question 21: How much have you heard or read about allegations that Senator Dodd may have received special treatment from Countrywide Financial on mortgages on his two homes - a lot, some, not much or none at all?

42 a lot/31 some/12 not much/13 none. So nearly three-quarters (up from 62 on 7/1/08) of those polled are familiar with the story, and only 13% are completely in the dark. Interestingly, Hartford respondents were paying the most attention to this story, but also found him the most trustworthy. Weird.


Question 22: Are you satisfied or not satisfied with Senator Dodd's explanation of this matter?

Less than a quarter (24%) said they were satisfied, compared to 54% who are not, leaving a large percentage undecided. The numbers were relatively similar across the state, with the exception of Litchfield county, which had nearly 2/3 unsatisfied. Again, Hartford respondents confuse me, with 53% not satisfied with his explanation, yet more find him honest and trustworthy than not.


Question 23: Does the controversy surrounding Chris Dodd's mortgages make you more likely to vote for him for Senator in 2010, less likely or it doesn't make a difference?

56% indicated they were less likely to vote for him, to 36% who are unaffected. Amazingly, 2% said the whole thing made them more likely to vote for Dodd. Must be from Hartford. Republicans were 73 less likely/21 no difference, Democrats were 43 less likely/47 no difference, and Independent voters were 60 less likely/33 no difference.


So what does this all mean? All of his trends are still going down at a decent clip, with no indication that he has hit the bottom. His ill-conceived presser from last week didn't play well with the voters, and he is in trouble unless he turns things around.

According to Roll Call (via Swing State Project), NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (TX) met with Rob Simmons a few weeks ago regarding a run for Dodd's seat. Hopefully after reviewing these numbers, he will come to the conclusion that this is a race the Republicans ought to invest in. Between the mortgage mess, Dodd's leading our economy to hell in a handbasket, and his support for the increasingly unpopular "stimulus" plan, he has left many avenues of attack for Simmons, Schiff or whoever else throws their hat in the ring. The sooner the attacks begin in force, the better for his eventual challenger.

This seat is squarely in play, ladies and gentlemen.

If A-Rod Were C-Dodd

Some time last June, rumors surfaced that New York Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez had tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003. He denied it, saying there was no story here, and promised to release his test results, which he assured us would clear his good name. From that time forward, he played the fans as fools, telling them he would release the reports as soon as Major League Baseball finished their investigation, even though everyone knew that MLB was not preventing him from releasing the results.

One morning in February, he called a few reporters and told them to come to his house in Miami in a few hours so he could release the test results (despite the fact that the MLB investigation was still ongoing, but apparently no longer a hindrance). His invited guests show up to his choreographed press conference and he allows them a glimpse of hundreds of pages of information, which they are not allowed to copy. He does provide copies of a summary report prepared by some chemist Scott Boras hired that concluded Rodriguez did nothing wrong, and which was apparently completed backin July; no reasonable explanation was provided as to why the information had been held secretive for so long or why the information was being released that day, which just happened to be 48 hours prior to Commissioner Bud Selig's critical address to the baseball world about the dire economic straits baseball has fallen into because of the huge contracts players have been signing (beginning with A-Rod's own 10 year, $252 million contract).

The New York Times wrote an editorial a few days later, issuing the mildest possible rebuke, noting that the whole thing was a little odd, but largely brushing the seriousness of the allegations under the rug.

Meanwhile, in Connecticut, Senator Chris Dodd gave an in-depth interview to one of the most respected journalists in the country to be aired for nearly an hour in prime time that evening. During this interview, Dodd admitted that he had made a decision he called "stupid" and "naive" and accepted a couple of sweetheart mortgage deals from his friend who ran a mortgage company. He knew it was wrong, especially since his responsibilities on the Senate Finance Committee included regulatory oversight of the very people who were giving him the VIP treatment.

He acknowledged that he got the deals because of his status as a US senator, and he deeply regretted using his official position for personal gain, but it was just the way the culture was in DC at the time and he got caught up in it. He said that he knew he could not take it back, but he would do his best to teach the incoming Congressmen and Congresswomen not to make the same mistakes he had made. He apologized to his constituents, and expressed his hope that his honesty now would begin the process of regaining their trust. He answered every question put to him, acknowledged there would be those who would not forgive him, but he committed himself to doing the best he could do as long as his constituents would have him.

For days, the media would rip Dodd for being insincere, and he would be booed loudly by the gallery when he entered the Senate chamber. But he would buckle down and do what he had been elected to do; he would find some principles and stand behind them, becoming the first Senate Democrat to break ranks on the "stimulus" bill, leading to a crushing defeat for Obama, Reid and Pelosi. Then...

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

Ughhhh, alarm clock. [stretch] I must have fallen asleep. Did I miss anything?

Dodd's Act Not Going Over Well

Gov. Rell's budget address this afternoon has taken the spotlight away from Chris Dodd's media stunt on Monday, and there is little doubt that was part of the plan. But there were two editorials today that make some good points about the whole situation.

First, Ed Morrissey has an article in the New York Post (H/T Hot Air). A taste:

Problem is, this doesn't negate any prior influence peddling. It's akin to closing the barn door after the horse has bolted, torn down the fences and set the farm on fire.

The influence-peddling took place when Dodd got the special deal from Countrywide - and the shenanigans that Dodd & Co. allowed Countrywide and other irresponsible subprime lenders to engage in have already burned down the US economy.

Dodd promised last summer that he'd release all of his mortgage documentation to the public. He's now in his seventh month of failing to deliver. This week, Dodd released some of the papers - but only to a select group of reporters, who weren't allowed to make copies.

The long wait suggests that Dodd has something to hide. The incomplete "disclosure" and the refinancing, meanwhile, look more like an attempt to bury evidence than a sudden commitment to clean government.

Also, check out the Waterbury Republican-American:

What Sen. Dodd delivered Monday was not full disclosure, but more of the same: The Dodds never asked for special treatment (nor did they refuse it); had they known they were in Countrywide's VIP program, they would have gone to another lender; at the same time, they knew they were VIPs but thought it was just a courtesy.

"We were highly sought-after customers," Jackie Clegg Dodd said. No kidding. But it never once crossed their minds that the VIP treatment might have had something to do with Sen. Dodd's long, destructive service on the Senate Banking Committee? And if he's really this naive about mortgage matters, why in God's name is he allowed to be the committee's chairman?

The sweetheart mortgages are but a small piece of the big picture. While the lending industry was showering him with millions in campaign donations and giving him special mortgages, Sen. Dodd was opening credit markets to unworthy borrowers so Countrywide and other lenders could make a killing on subprime mortgages for "affordable housing."

Read them both, and make sure your fellow Connecticut voters don't lose sight of these issues in the blur of the budget.

Dodd Round-up, Day 1 Post "Release"

The Wall Street Journal isn't buying Dodd's little get together yesterday:

Heck, we'd all love the kind of courtesy that would have saved Mr. Dodd $75,000 over the life of the two loans he refinanced to the tune of $800,000, according to an analysis by Portfolio magazine. The savings came from rock-bottom interest rates and a free "float-down" -- the right to borrow at a lower rate if interest rates fall before you've closed on the loan.

On Monday, with interest rates -- even for non-VIPs -- near historic lows, Mr. Dodd announced that he would refinance the sweetheart loans with another lender. The rates on the two Friends of Angelo loans were 4.5% and 4.25%, so the Senator will probably end up paying a bit more than he is now. But getting out from under the original loans doesn't shed any light on the key question: Whether Mr. Dodd knew that he got the red-carpet treatment because of his central role in regulating the financial industry. That's what former Countrywide employee Robert Feinberg has claimed to us and others.

[Snip]

If, as Mr. Dodd claims, he has nothing to hide, then why is he still hiding it?

And the guys over at Capitol Watch are seeing the beginnings of a Republican response to this mess:

Anyway, groups like the NRSC only spend time and money when they think a seat might be in play. Bluer-than-blue Connecticut, which has no Republicans in Congress, suddenly is on that list.

The NRSC e-mailed two attacks on Christopher J. Dodd, a five-term Democrat up for re-election in 2010.

[snip]

The e-mails are a sign they will try to further soften up the senator, whose job approval rating has dropped below 50 percent, and hope they can convince a credible Republican what has been a hard sell for long time:

Dodd might be vulnerable.

More coverage on the Dodd debacle can be found at the Courant, ProPublica, Michelle Malkin, Instapundit and some analysis of the loans can be found at Loanzen Blog.

Chris Dodd Spits In The Faces Of The People Who Keep Electing Him

News leaked this morning that Chris Dodd was going to release his mortgage documents, but instead what we got was a quasi-release of records, a confirmation from a hired hand that what he has been saying all along is in fact true, and an "apology," kind of. It was like a Rod Blagojevich press conference; something out of the Twilight Zone.

First, the fact of the matter is he still won't release the records. He apparently allowed reporters to look briefly at (but not copy) some 100+ pages of records, and handed out some summary sheets prepared by CrossCheck Compliance LLC, a company his attorneys hired that "provides regulatory compliance and loan review services." I for one doubt that this company is going to destroy their reputation by covering up for this windbag, but still, not making the records available for the public and having some firm you hired declare you are not a crook is probably the least effective way to go about this whole thing.

The summary sheets they put together compare Dodd's application info and the rates he got on his loans with market averages at the time and it looks like his deal was in line with what was available for 10 year adjustable rates at his loan-to-value. But I have more questions now than I did before. What was the benefit to holding on to this info for so long? And what changed in the last week that made it a good idea to "release" this information at this time? What made him just want to "put this behind him" now? And if there was nothing shady about the loan he received, why is he now refinancing? Why did Senator Kent Conrad, who was in the same VIP program, think it appropriate to refinance immediately and donate over $10,000 to charity? Too many secrets.

But what was most offensive to me was what came out of his mouth. I think Chris Dodd truly believes that the people of Connecticut are ignorant fools who will simply take whatever he says as gospel. Here are a few of his statements that struck me.

"We asked what [the VIP program] entailed and we were told that it was nothing more than enhanced customer service. For instance, being able to get a person on the phone instead of an automated operator."

You can get that by pressing "zero," Chris, you don't need a VIP program. This guy is a US Senator, and his wife is a banker, and that is the best they could come up with after six months of scheming?

"I planned on making these documents public after the Ethics Committee completed its work, but I should have realized with national elections and the start of a new Congress it was unrealistic to expect the Committee to finish by now."

For someone who has been in the Senate since I was in grade school, he doesn't know very much about how the Senate works. There is no part of the investigation that has ever prevented him from releasing the documents. That has been a smokescreen from the start, but he refuses to let it go. And how long did he think the investigation would take, fifteen minutes? The Senate can't decide when to take a bathroom break without polls, witnesses and hearings.

"Knowing what I know now, I regret having ever done business with Countrywide."

The only thing he knows now that he didn't know before is that the voters, and even some in the media, aren't going to let this go, even if he wants to pretend the whole fiasco is no big deal.

Read about today's events at The Everyday Republican, the Connecticut Post, the Hartford Courant here, here, here and here, the Washington Post, Bloomberg, AP, The Day, Politico, NRO, Michelle Malkin here and here, Hot Air here and here, CBS, CT News Junkie, Instapundit, and see video at NECN.

Courant Calls Out Chris For Countrywide Circus

Kudos to the Hartford Courant editorial board, with whom I rarely see eye to eye, for taking Dodd to task for playing games with regard to his Countrywide mortgage documents.

U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd says he's got nothing to hide. Yet for two months he's issued confusing and conflicting statements on whether he'll publicly release documents relating to two loans he and his wife received from failed mortgage giant Countrywide Financial Corp.

He still hasn't released them. On Jan. 23, Mr. Dodd was asked if he intends to await the conclusion of a Senate ethics inquiry before making the documents public. "Not necessarily," he told a reporter for The Courant. "At some point soon we'll do it."

[snip]

His continued waffling about whether or when he'll release the documents only fans speculation. That's a disservice to Mr. Dodd's constituents, who deserve straight talk and accountability from the state's senior senator.

This is right on. I hope they keep it up until we get some answers.

UPDATE: The Day gets in on the calling out.

Where In The World Are Chris Dodd's Mortgage Papers?

Check out this great video from Fox's Glenn Beck. Good stuff. I love how Beck laughs every time they play the theme song.

Dodd's Guide to Managing Political Scandal

Mark Hemingway at National Review Online has a great article calling out Chris Dodd for his handling of Mozzillo-gate. He describes the four steps of the Dodd plan to managing a scandal: 1) proclaim innocence, 2) promise exculpatory evidence but don't provide it, 3) hide behind congressional ethics inquiries, and 4) wait around for everyone to forget.

This paragraph summarizes exactly why Dodd is playing the games he is playing:

Of course, his stalling here is just the preferred tactic for managing the media coverage of the scandal. “It’s hard for people in the media to keep writing stories when there’s nothing new to report. Which of course they count on. You get through the bad news cycle and there’s nothing new to report and people can’t keep writing the same thing every day,” Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told National Review Online. “The pressure fades and people in Dodd’s position know their constituents forget about it.”

That's why we can't let the story die, and it leads me to one aspect of the article I'll take issue with. Why the fawning over the Courant's coverage? I suppose it has been good compared to the national media, but that should be a given. It's a Connecticut paper; they ought to be covering Connecticut's corrupt senator a lot closer than the LA Times. But asking one question, with no follow-up, every month or two is far from the hard-hitting journalism Hemmingway seems to think we are being treated to.

Speaking of the Courant, Capitol Watch linked the NRO article here, and Instapundit linked it here.

Secret US Plan To Destroy Ukranian Economy Disclosed

How else can you explain this?

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Senator Christopher J. Dodd is scheduled to give the keynote speech at a breakfast forum hosted by the Ukrainian Foundation for Effective Governance (FEG) and The Hill, on February 24in Washington, D.C., announced Nataliya Izosimova, Managing Director of FEG.

[snip]

"The event, focusing on 'Building a Strong Economy for the Real Ukraine,' will further raise awareness of key economic issues affecting Ukraine," Izosimova stated. "Through our ongoing public discussions and the implementation of key economic projects, FEG is working to increase economic competitiveness and create an attractive investment environment for Ukraine." [emphasis added]

What's he going to say? "Force your banks to throw money at people who you already know will never be able to repay it, don't allow the lenders to be adequately regulated, and while you're at it, collect hundreds of thousands of dollars for your self!"

Admittedly, I don't know that much about the Ukranian economy, but it must be in a sorry state if they are looking for advice from one of the architects of the collapse of the US economy (can you be an architect of a collapse, or is that an oxymoron?).

Perhaps he will be there as a cautionary tale of what can happen when politicians who are ethically challenged, ripe with conflicts of interest, and oblivious to the facts around them are in charge of your economy. In any event, pray for the Ukranians.

The View From Across The Pond

The Guardian has put together a list of twenty-five people at the heart of the economic meltdown, and guess who made the list?

Christopher Dodd, chairman, Senate banking committee (Democrat)
Consistently resisted efforts to tighten regulation on the mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He pushed to broaden their role to dodgier mortgages in an effort to help home ownership for the poor. Received $165,000 in donations from Fannie and Freddie from 1989 to 2008, more than anyone else in Congress.

His good buddy, Angelo Mozzillo, was not left out, either.

Known as "the orange one" for his luminous tan, Mozilo was the chairman and chief executive of the biggest American sub-prime mortgage lender, which was saved from bankruptcy by Bank of America. BoA recently paid billions to settle investigations by various attorney generals for Countrywide's mis-selling of risky loans to thousands who could not afford them. The company ran a "VIP programme" that provided loans on favourable terms to influential figures including Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate banking committee, the heads of the federal-backed mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and former assistant secretary of state Richard Holbrooke.

Hopefully Connecticut voters get their news from England, and not the US media. There is not enough attention being paid to Dodd's role, and I am not holding my breath for the Courant to put it on the front page.

H/T Instapundit

The Irony That Is Chris Dodd

The DC Examiner had an editorial the other day regarding the hypocrisy of Congressional Democrats in their recent demands for TARP-accountability:

Oh, the sheer irony of Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and Nancy Pelosi complaining that the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) lacks transparency. These three Democratic congressional leaders were among the most vocal in seconding President Bush's warning last fall that economic catastrophe was right around the corner if the administration's $700 billion TARP proposal wasn't adopted as soon as possible. And Frank, Dodd and Pelosi were among those cheering loudest when Congress approved TARP over conservative objections that the bill handed Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson $700 billion to spend as he pleased, with barely a whiff of transparency or accountability in the bargain.

They go on to point out the added hypocrisy of this kind of talk coming from the likes of Chris Dodd, who won't even support legislation to require the transparency he says he wants:

It is particularly galling to hear Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, complain that "President Bush failed to be transparent with Americans about how their hard-earned dollars were being spent." This is the same Dodd who promised last July- last July - to make public all documents relating to a series of sweetheart loans he received from the Countrywide Financial, one of the biggest miscreants in the subprime mortgage debacle. Yet, 216 days later, Dodd still has released no papers.

It is always refreshing to read someone pointing out the obvious.

H/T but, that's just my opinion

Dodd on the Web: Annoying, Pompous and Unpopular

Right Wing News has its annual list of most anoying liberals, and Chris Dodd makes the list at number 20.

20) Chris Dodd: Dodd, who ran a perfectly awful campaign for President, was one of the few candidates who didn't get an invitation to join Barack Obama's cabinet. Was it because he's so tragically boring? No, it's because not only was he, like Barney Frank, an enabler for the whole financial crisis that has currently engulfed the U.S. economy -- he also got a sweetheart deal from Countrywide and then turned around and helped funnel billions of dollars their way during the bailout. Of course, Dodd claimed that he had no idea he was getting such a great deal because he is a U.S. Senator. He simply thought they were rewarding him for being such a good customer!

That's how it always seems to work with crooked politicians like Chris Dodd: companies funnel in money on the front end and the pols pay them back with taxpayer money by the bank vault full while shifting the blame elsewhere.

Defining quote: "It's not easy being a U.S. senator. People trick you into taking special favors you didn't even know existed. Shame on these unscrupulous people!

...Most alleged victims of Countrywide were gulled into taking loans with onerous interest rates and excessive fees. But they don't know the agony of life as a U.S. senator, when at any moment a powerful, well-heeled interest might take advantage of you with cut-rate loans." -- Rich Lowry

NECN has a story that includes an interview with Dodd. Fast forward to about 0:30 remaining to hear him explain how if only we had listened to him for the last two years, we would not have the problem with foreclosures we now face. Seriously. Watch it, but do so on an empty stomach.



Finally, the Hartford Courant says this about Chris Dodd, a political name to watch in 2009:

After nearly 28 years of consistent popularity, U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd saw his public approval ratings sag to below 50 percent in late 2008 after months of news disclosures about his cut-rate mortgages from banking giant Countrywide Financial and his long absence from duty while he was running for president earlier in the year. Now it's decision time for Dodd on whether to launch a run for a sixth Senate term in the 2010 election. Dodd has denied wrongdoing, but still refuses to release documents related to his mortgages while the Senate conducts an ethics probe.

Dodd Finally Takes Responsibility For Economic Collapse, Promises To Hold Himself Accountable

Chris Dodd had the following to say about how he was deceived into forcing lenders to make billions of dollars by providing bad loans while taking their huge campaign contributions, ultimately resulting in the economic tsunami we are trying to weather. From The Hill:

“The Banking Committee is examining this case to determine how so many people could have been deceived and how such a massive fraud could have gone undetected for so long,” Dodd said in a statement. “American investors deserve an explanation and the responsible parties must be held accountable. I am hopeful that our findings will also help inform our efforts to improve regulation so that such abuses do not occur in the future.

Oh, wait. I just read the rest of the article. Apparently he was talking about how the SEC dropped the ball with Madoff. My bad.