Along with a couple million other people who's credit rating didn't justify the loan that they received.

"Waitress Sandwich"?

Code_Archeologist: Along with a couple million other people who's credit rating didn't justify the loan that they received.

Well that makes it OK!

Conrad said he never met Mozilo, and "I never asked for, expected or was aware of any special treatment." Dodd had no immediate comment, but his wife told Portfolio two other lenders they'd checked with offered comparable interest rates.

And I'm sure those other two lenders also had no idea who you were and had no reason to try to give you a "sweet deal"?

Code_Archeologist: Along with a couple million other people VIPs who's [sic] credit rating didn't justify the loan that they received.

Fixed. Ahem:

Two U.S. senators, two former Cabinet members, and a former ambassador to the United Nations received loans from Countrywide Financial through a little-known program that waived points, lender fees, and company borrowing rules for prominent people.

(snip)

Most of the officials belonged to a group of V.I.P. loan recipients known in company documents and emails as "F.O.A.'s"-Friends of Angelo, a reference to Countrywide chief executive Angelo Mozilo.

WHO FARKING CARES

Dancin_In_Anson
Code_Archeologist: Along with a couple million other people who's credit rating didn't justify the loan that they received.

Well that makes it OK!

No, it certainly doesn't. But having worked at Countrywide (though not on their specific loans) we were doing shady math constantly to get people to re-fi with us, and they were never in on it (as in, they knew the deal they were getting, but not how we pulled it off, or: we were paid to finesse the truth). My point being that if Dodd and everyone didn't know they were getting a sweet, under the table deal, then you really can't hang them for it.

They might have known, but I'm yet to see that allegation.

/Oh, and I'm getting a kick out of these replies.

Wait wait wait...

You are telling me that there was a gigantic scandal, involving huge corporations and US politicians and it involved politicos from both parties?

I just cannot believe this. To imply that a United States Politician^tm is accepting bribes of some sort. For shame N.Y. Post, for shame. How dare you libel the noble aristocracy of this great nation.

Brought to you by Carl's Jr.

japhy: "Waitress Sandwich"?

Had to look that one up myself. Link (pops).

Outtaphase: japhy: "Waitress Sandwich"?

Had to look that one up myself. Link (pops).


Ewwwww.

This is why you shouldn't accept a favor from any friend. This includes free drinks at the bar.... Drew.

japhy: "Waitress Sandwich"?

A reference to how Dodd and Ted Kennedy spent part of a typically cultured evening at La Brasserie in DC in 1985 - while their dates were in the bathroom.

Classy!

Isn't Sen. Dodd on Obama's shortlist for VP nominees?

Is this seriously the best "scandal" conservatives can dig up? Man, you guys are getting lazy.

Chester the Snake: Isn't Sen. Dodd on Obama's shortlist for VP nominees?

Not anymore.

Dil Doe
Is this seriously the best "scandal" conservatives can dig up? Man, you guys are getting lazy.

Considering this implicates both parties, i would say your partisan hate is showing.

If any criminal act is uncovered, it doesn't matter what party the bums are from. Throw 'em out!

moops: WHO FARKING CARES

Read this as "Since it involves members of the party I support the corruption does not matter".

Partisan tools suck, no matter what party they spend their time fellating. It is in the best interest of all Americans to shun and vote out ALL corrupt politicians, not just the ones of the opposite party. A dirty dealing mortgage company greasing the wheels of Congress while at the same time bankrupting huge numbers of honest Americans is shameful. And it is also shameful that you took the donkey cock out of your mouth just long enough to imply that this doesn't matter. There are a lot of Americans who are facing foreclosure and I'm sure to them this does matter.

Wipe them out. All of them.

/Sidious
//Supports a constitutional amendment to provide free guillotine haircuts to politicians convicted of receiving bribes, favors, free lunches, hell even CPR from a lobbyist should raise questions.

And somebody from Countrywide is who Obama selects to lead the charge in finding a VP... Oh but wait I forgot, he wasn't actually paid by Obama's campaign so it doesn't count, he gets one of the most important jobs in the entire Obama campaign but it's no big deal because he wasn't being paid.

"Change" you can believe will be politics as usual.

And Sen. Dodd is tasked with crafting legislation to fix this mess. How precious.

The magnitude of this farkup is completely underestimated.

Conrad said he never met Mozilo, and "I never asked for, expected or was aware of any special treatment."

Conrad must be an IE7 user who didn't know about Firefox's plugins.

/yuk yuk yuk

moops: WHO FARKING CARES

That is one way to look at it. Turn away as another financial institution sells the tax payers down the road. Now we have to bail their ass out just like the Savings and Loans. Lets just look away as Countrywide CEO packs up his $271 million and heads off into the sunset and then gets a sweet job from one of the government officials he gave backdoor mortgages to.

A bribe is a bribe.

I Said: Dancin_In_Anson
Code_Archeologist: Along with a couple million other people who's credit rating didn't justify the loan that they received.

Well that makes it OK!

No, it certainly doesn't. But having worked at Countrywide (though not on their specific loans) we were doing shady math constantly to get people to re-fi with us, and they were never in on it (as in, they knew the deal they were getting, but not how we pulled it off, or: we were paid to finesse the truth). My point being that if Dodd and everyone didn't know they were getting a sweet, under the table deal, then you really can't hang them for it.

They might have known, but I'm yet to see that allegation.

/Oh, and I'm getting a kick out of these replies.

Yeah, but the shady math normally involves screwing people with low initial fees and then ramping them up. They don't do "shady math" to give people upwards of 70k in savings.

liam76
Yeah, but the shady math normally involves screwing people with low initial fees and then ramping them up. They don't do "shady math" to give people upwards of 70k in savings.

To an extent that's true. But, if we knew a guy was going to re-fi other houses with us we would take a loss to get his business. And there's a good chance a Senator would have multiple houses, or if they have a good experience refer us to their high net-worth friends.

But that really wasn't my point. My point was that no matter who the shady math helped, hurt, or how it was done, the homeowner never really saw it. They could if they worked all the numbers from scratch, but if they see the balance, rate, term, and monthly payments and say "I'm good with this" (as most do) then that's that. In other words, I doubt these guys knew they were getting an unethical deal.

However, I have never heard of these "Friends of Angelo" designations before. These guys could have known everything that was going on. I just don't see a reason to jump to that conclusion just yet.

I Said:
"My point being that if Dodd and everyone didn't know they were getting a sweet, under the table deal, then you really can't hang them for it."

"Dodd is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, while Conrad is chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee."

If ANYBODY, anywhere, could possibly pick up on the idea that they might be getting preferential treatment because they were influential politicos, it SHOULD be people holding those particular committee posts. They either knew (in which case they're crooked) or they didn't know (in which case they're too dumb to be holding office, much less influential positions on those committees).

These are guys who probably run their friggin' cell phone plans past their lawyers - and you think they didn't know they were getting insanely good deals?

Kent Conrad bio says has been in public service his whole career. And he has a million dollar vacation home. Nice

cirby: I Said:
"My point being that if Dodd and everyone didn't know they were getting a sweet, under the table deal, then you really can't hang them for it."

"Dodd is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, while Conrad is chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee."

If ANYBODY, anywhere, could possibly pick up on the idea that they might be getting preferential treatment because they were influential politicos, it SHOULD be people holding those particular committee posts. They either knew (in which case they're crooked) or they didn't know (in which case they're too dumb to be holding office, much less influential positions on those committees).

These are guys who probably run their friggin' cell phone plans past their lawyers - and you think they didn't know they were getting insanely good deals?

People this rich ALWAYS get sweet deals. They've never even SEEN a bad deal. SOP, as far as they were concerned.

cirby: If ANYBODY, anywhere, could possibly pick up on the idea that they might be getting preferential treatment because they were influential politicos, it SHOULD be people holding those particular committee posts. They either knew (in which case they're crooked) or they didn't know (in which case they're too dumb to be holding office, much less influential positions on those committees).

These are guys who probably run their friggin' cell phone plans past their lawyers - and you think they didn't know they were getting insanely good deals?

Or, to elaborate on your example of having lawyers pour over cell phone bills, they have family financial planners who handle all of this outside of their knowledge (I work for one. Damn, this entire convo is relevant to my interests).

Anyway, if they knew what was up, and they were publicly railing against CW, they deserve a ton of bad press. I'm not arguing that. I am just saying that there is a good chance they didn't know.

What's the logic of screaming for investigations into CW's sweetheart deals and unethical practices when you yourself had a sweetheart deal with them? That would make him one of the dumbest men alive.

What's the logic of screaming for investigations into CW's sweetheart deals and unethical practices when you yourself had a sweetheart deal with them? That would make him one of the dumbest men alive.

You can put "most arrogant" in there instead of "dumbest" and that paragraph works just as well.

Look up "Gary Hart" for a look into similar arrogance. Make sure to add "Donna Rice" into your search...

Insertwitty Namehere: moops: WHO FARKING CARES

Read this as "Since it involves members of the party I support the corruption does not matterI'm a partisan tool".

FTFY

I am shocked
Shocked I tell you...

MrGMan: Insertwitty Namehere: moops: WHO FARKING CARES

Read this as "Since it involves members of the party I support the corruption does not matterI'm a partisan tool".

FTFY

How so? Is it because I think it is a dick move to complain about corruption in the other party while ignoring it in your own. It is people like you that keep me from ever supporting one party exclusively. I vote for the candidate that most closely matches my views and values. I think that accepting a sweetheart deal on a mortgage from the same company that is reaming average Joes and Janes is despicable, I don't need to see the letter after the politicians name to decide that. But the "If you aren't with us you're against us" tools on both sides of the aisle can have fun, just don't wonder why nothing ever farking changes.

I got a sweet deal from Countrywide, so I'm getting a kick out of these replies.

People who pay points and closing costs are stupid. Seriously.

Wow, this is getting ridiculous.

As far as I can tell, Countrywide gave anybody with a pulse and three dollars and seventeen cents a loan. Although actually having a special code for friends of the chairman of the company in the computer system, and then giving that to any politician who happened to ask for a loan, is kind of the cherry on top of this particular turd pie. I suspect the politicians themselves didn't know they were getting special treatment, but "Hey, I got a great deal on my refi from these guys," is a good bankground thought to plant in these officials heads if Countrywide ever had any business before any committees or agencies they ran.

Hell of a scandal, righties...

Geotpf: I suspect the politicians themselves didn't know they were getting special treatment

Yeah, Dodd's only the chairman of the Banking Committee. No reason he would get favors from a banker.