2009.07.28: July 28, 2009: Headlines: Figures: COS - Dominican Republic: Politics: Congress: Huffington Post: David Fiderer writes: Senator Dodd's Accusers: Lying Liars and the Reporters Who Enable Them

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Dominican Republic: RPCV Chris Dodd (Dominican Republic) : RPCV Chris Dodd: Newest Stories: 2009.07.28: July 28, 2009: Headlines: Figures: COS - Dominican Republic: Politics: Congress: Huffington Post: David Fiderer writes: Senator Dodd's Accusers: Lying Liars and the Reporters Who Enable Them

By Admin1 (admin) (98.188.147.225) on Friday, August 14, 2009 - 12:49 pm: Edit Post

David Fiderer writes: Senator Dodd's Accusers: Lying Liars and the Reporters Who Enable Them

David Fiderer writes: Senator Dodd's Accusers: Lying Liars and the Reporters Who Enable Them

Feinberg lied by claiming that Dodd received free "float-downs" when he refinanced the mortgage loans on his homes in Connecticut and Washington. The free float-downs purportedly reduced the interest rate on one $275,000 loan from 4.875 percent to 4.5 percent, and reduced the rate on another $506,000 loan from 4.875 percent to 4.25 percent. (For an analysis of why the calculation of a $75,000 savings was fraudulent, go here.) But there never was any float-down. The truth is far more banal and obvious. When Dodd applied to refinance his mortgages in April 2003, the market rate was 4.875 percent. At the time of his application, Dodd did not lock in his rate. Instead, he assumed the risk that rates might rise above 4.875 percent or that they might decline further. When Dodd closed on his mortgages several months later, market rates had fallen, and he got the lower spot rates, which were same rates extended to any comparable borrower at the time. Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic in the 1960's.

David Fiderer writes: Senator Dodd's Accusers: Lying Liars and the Reporters Who Enable Them

Senator Dodd's Accusers: Lying Liars and the Reporters Who Enable Them

There's definitive, ironclad proof that Senator Dodd's accuser has been lying from the start. The entire Countrywide VIP loan scandal is predicated on the flimsy recollections of this liar, named Robert Feinberg. Luckily for Feinberg and some Republican hit men, some less-than-professional reporters like Larry Margasak of the Associated Press are more than willing to embellish Feinberg's story.

More than a year ago, Feinberg, a loan processor laid off from Countrywide Financial, stole some confidential loan documents on mortgages extended to 17 Democrats, and persuaded Conde Nast Portfolio that he had evidence of a big scandal. His documents never demonstrated much of anything. The "sweetheart deals" or "VIP treatment" were mostly nickel and dime stuff, waivers of "garbage fees" that are only paid by suckers. Nothing in the paperwork suggested that anyone was paying a below-market interest rate on his loan.

So, in order to inflate the dollar benefit of the "sweetheart deals," Feinberg made up some facts. He offered no written backup, but Portfolio, desperate to uncover a "scandal," took his word for it. In fact, there was written documentation disproving Feinberg's lie. But since Feinberg concealed that information, Portfolio was able to maintain plausible deniability.

"Portfolio calculated that lower rates and waived fees would save Dodd more than $75,000 over the life of the loans," reported NPR and dozens of other media outlets. About $2,700 of those savings were traceable to written documents, and Feinberg made up the remaining $72,000.

Feinberg lied by claiming that Dodd received free "float-downs" when he refinanced the mortgage loans on his homes in Connecticut and Washington. The free float-downs purportedly reduced the interest rate on one $275,000 loan from 4.875 percent to 4.5 percent, and reduced the rate on another $506,000 loan from 4.875 percent to 4.25 percent. (For an analysis of why the calculation of a $75,000 savings was fraudulent, go here.)

But there never was any float-down. The truth is far more banal and obvious. When Dodd applied to refinance his mortgages in April 2003, the market rate was 4.875 percent. At the time of his application, Dodd did not lock in his rate. Instead, he assumed the risk that rates might rise above 4.875 percent or that they might decline further. When Dodd closed on his mortgages several months later, market rates had fallen, and he got the lower spot rates, which were same rates extended to any comparable borrower at the time.

We now know the truth based on documents that Feinberg concealed from Portfolio but handed over to Rep. Darrel Issa, who is unilaterally attempting an end-run around the Senate Ethics Committee investigation into the matter. The documents for Dodd's mortgage application show "Not Applicable" on the line for a rate-lock, a product which would have allowed Dodd to lock in his rates at the time of his application in April 2003, before his closings in June and July 2003.

Since Dodd never had a rate lock, he never had the famous float-downs that, according to Feinberg and Portfolio, saved Dodd $72,000. A float-down is a promise that you are entitled to the lower of your locked-in rate or the spot rate at the time of closing. If you don't have a rate lock, you don't have a float-down. Of course, Washington media types are not especially interested in things like details.

Imagine for a moment that you have left the Gossip Girl world of Washington media, and lived in a world where reporters acted professionally and ethically. A reporter covering the Countrywide VIP loan story would ask the following questions:

Did Dodd actually benefit from a sweetheart deal? That is, did he receive terms better than those available to anyone else on the open market? And if Dodd did receive better terms, was the discount so glaringly obvious that anyone would have been suspicious? The clear-cut answer to all of those questions is, "No." A reporter who showed some interest in fact checking would have read and evaluated the substance of Dodd's written response on the matter. Or he might have called a real estate professional and asked, "Suppose a customer gets a $2,700 reduction in upfront fees on mortgage refinancings totaling $781,000, would he have reason to suspect that the reduction was something out of the ordinary?"

Instead, Washington media types say that Dodd disputes the allegations, but go no further into the substance of the data that validates Dodd's version of events.

What did Dodd hear or see that made him think that he got a better deal than someone else? The answer to that question is that a low-level paper pusher, Feinberg, repeated some standard marketing tag lines on the phone. Check out Feinberg's appearance on CNBC.




Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: July, 2009; RPCV Chris Dodd (Dominican Republic); Figures; Peace Corps Dominican Republic; Directory of Dominican Republic RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Dominican Republic RPCVs; Politics; Congress; Connecticut





When this story was posted in August 2009, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers RSS Feed

 Site Index Search PCOL with Google Contact PCOL Recent Posts Bulletin Board Open Discussion RPCV Directory Register

Join Us Mr. President! Date: June 26 2009 No: 1380 Join Us Mr. President!
"We will double the size of the Peace Corps by its 50th anniversary in 2011. And we'll reach out to other nations to engage their young people in similar programs, so that we work side by side to take on the common challenges that confront all humanity," said Barack Obama during his campaign. Returned Volunteers rally and and march to the White House to support a bold new Peace Corps for a new age. Latest: Senator Dodd introduces Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2009 .

Meet Aaron Williams - Our Next Director Date: July 30 2009 No: 1411 Meet Aaron Williams - Our Next Director
Senator Dodd's Senate Subcommittee held confirmation hearings for Aaron Williams to become the 18th Peace Corps Director. "It's exciting to have a nominee who served in the Peace Corps and also has experience in international development and management," said Dodd as he put Williams on the fast track to be confirmed by the full Senate before the August recess. Read our exclusive coverage of the hearings and our biography of Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams.

July 11, 2009: House says Yes, Senate No Date: July 11 2009 No: 1390 July 11, 2009: House says Yes, Senate No
Senate Funding for Peace Corps Falls Short of Goal 10 Jul
House supports $450M Peace Corps Budget 17 Jun
Senator Kit Bond says PC is Smart Power 29 Jun
Parents Keep Dream Alive for Fallen Zambia PCV 3 Jul
PCVs Safe in Honduras after Coup 28 Jun
Jahanshah Javid recalls Peace Corps Volunteers in Iran 22 Jun
Peace Corps to return to Sierra Leone in 2010 18 Jun
Ryan Van Duzer rode bike from Honduras to Boulder 17 Jun
Monica Mills Named a Top Grassroots Lobbyist 12 Jun
Tiffany Nelson teaches - and learns in China 12 Jun
Dr. Roger Brooks spent 35 years with Concord Schools 9 Jun
Dr. Catherine Taylor Foster administered Polio vaccine in Nepal 8 Jun
Bill Lorah Runs Pre-Collegiate Program in Colorado 7 Jun
Brian Carroll writes: An African village adapts 7 Jun
Rebekah Martin finds love is not enough 6 Jun
Peter Bartholomew helps preserve Korean traditional culture 5 Jun
Obama speaks to Islamic World at Cairo University 4 Jun
Matt Hepp combines humanitarian and climbing objectives 4 Jun
Juana Bordas named 2009 Unique Woman of Colorado 2 Jun
Phil Hardberger left his mark on San Antonio 31 May
Philip Nix retires as headmaster of Day School 31 May

New: More Stories from June and July 2009

May 30, 2009: Peace Corps' Roadmap Date: May 29 2009 No: 1369 May 30, 2009: Peace Corps' Roadmap
Peace Corps' Roadmap for the Future 26 May
Who are the Candidates for Peace Corps Director? 24 May
Have French Atomic Tests put PCVs at Risk? 1 May
Obama asks Congress for 10% increase in PC Budget 7 May
Guy Consolmagno debunks "Angels & Demons" 22 May
Obama praises Dodd at credit card signing 22 May
John Garamendi front runner in California primary 22 May
Al Kamen writes: New management structure at PC HQ? 22 May
Damian Wampler's play Twin Towers opens in NYC 21 May
Michael Volpe learns that DC is networking capital 21 May
Dr. Mike Metke returns to Costa Rica 10 May
Jesse Fleisher Lives well on less 14 May
Al Kamen writes: PCVs peak at 11,000 under Obama Budget 11 May
James W. Kostenblatt is making a difference in Mozambique 10 May
Karen and Warren Master host Kyrgyzstan teen 9 May
Alberto Ibargüen writes: The Future of Newspapers 9 May
PC Monitor 2009 H1N1 Flu Virus in Mexico 1 May
Paul Theroux writes: Obama and the Peace Corps 1 May
Johnnie Carson to head State Department African Affairs 29 Apr
Michael O'Hanlon writes: Grading Obama's First 100 Days 29 Apr
Amy Potthast writes: The Peace Corps Lottery 23 Apr
Read more stories from April and May 2009.

Director Ron Tschetter:  The PCOL Interview Date: December 9 2008 No: 1296 Director Ron Tschetter: The PCOL Interview
Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter sat down for an in-depth interview to discuss the evacuation from Bolivia, political appointees at Peace Corps headquarters, the five year rule, the Peace Corps Foundation, the internet and the Peace Corps, how the transition is going, and what the prospects are for doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011. Read the interview and you are sure to learn something new about the Peace Corps. PCOL previously did an interview with Director Gaddi Vasquez.



Read the stories and leave your comments.








Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Story Source: Huffington Post

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Dominican Republic; Politics; Congress

PCOL44437
36


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: