2009.08.07: Dodd Cleared after Ethics Probe
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2009.08.07: Dodd Cleared after Ethics Probe
Dodd Cleared after Ethics Probe
The committee found that the VIP loan program offered service that was "often quicker, more efficient" and that there were "some discounts" but said the program did not always offer the best rates available at Countrywide or in the market generally. Dodd, who is up for election in 2010, chairs the Senate Banking Committee. "I hope that today's dismissal will go a long way toward restoring the bond of trust and confidence that I've worked long and hard to build with the people of our state," Dodd said in a statement. "I want you to know it's a relationship I have never, and would never, take for granted." Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic in the 1960's.
Dodd Cleared after Ethics Probe
Dodd, Conrad cleared after ethics probe
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Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., has called a news conference to discuss the dismissal by the Senate Ethics Committee of the complaint against him regarding a mortgage he received from Countrywide Financial. The letters announcing the dismissal of both Dodd and Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., can be found on the Ethics Committee website here.
The original complaint was filed June 13, 2008, by a watchdog group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The complaint alleged that the Countrywide VIP mortgage program through which Dodd and Conrad received loans violated the Senate's gift rule. "While the committee finds no substantial credible evidence ... that your Countrywide mortgages violated Senate ethics rules, the committee does believe that you should have exercised more vigilance," the committee's letter read.
The committee found that the VIP loan program offered service that was "often quicker, more efficient" and that there were "some discounts" but said the program did not always offer the best rates available at Countrywide or in the market generally. Dodd, who is up for election in 2010, chairs the Senate Banking Committee.
"I hope that today's dismissal will go a long way toward restoring the bond of trust and confidence that I've worked long and hard to build with the people of our state," Dodd said in a statement. "I want you to know it's a relationship I have never, and would never, take for granted."
Updated 2:37 p.m. ET. Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW has issued a statement: "Like a battered woman who explains she brought the beating on herself, the committee faulted itself for failing to ‘provide more guidance to the Senate community about issues surrounding mortgage negotiations.' Over a year has passed since CREW filed its complaint and the committee became aware of this issue. Now would be a good time for the committee to start proactively providing its promised advice."
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Headlines: August, 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
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Story Source: USA Today
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