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Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said he and his wife knew Countrywide Inc. was treating them as “VIP” customers when they refinanced mortgages on two homes in 2003, but that it did not cross his mind he was getting a financial perk from the sub-prime lender. Dodd, who as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee oversees mortgage lenders, said he did not ask and Countrywide’s representatives did not say what the VIP treatment entailed. “We knew at the time that we were being dealt with within a special section of the company,” Dodd explained. “We really just assumed it was a courtesy, because we had an existing mortgage with them — two mortgages with them.” He noted that he and his wife, Jackie Clegg, were pre-existing customers with excellent credit. He said she assumed that they were merely going to receive more attentive customer service. He said he had never sought nor had any knowledge of any special rate he was getting from Countrywide. “As a member of the U.S. Senate over these many years, the idea of asking or seeking any kind of financial preference, whether it’s on home mortgages or anything else, I completely reject. And any offer that ever would be made I would terminate immediately,” he said. Dodd and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) faced intense questioning from reporters on Tuesday during their first appearance in the Senate after a report that they received sweetheart deals on mortgages. The scrutiny comes as the Senate prepares to vote as soon as Wednesday on housing legislation that Dodd helped to craft. Conrad has also denied that he sought or had any knowledge that he was getting special treatment on his mortgage. |
