SEN. Chris Dodd is hoping to make his sweetheart deals with Country wide Mortgage – which saved him tens of thousands of dollars on two mortgages – disappear.
Dodd, the chairman of the Banking Committee, announced this week that he’ll have the mortgages refinanced and managed by a third party to protect against allegations of influence peddling.
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.
Frankly, he could keep the mortgages as they are – no one cares how much he pays for them now. What matters is the sleazy manner in which Dodd got deals that normal consumers couldn’t.
Plus, of course, refinancing now probably won’t cost him much. Thanks to Dodd and his colleagues, mortgage rates are as low as they’ll ever be. Who wouldn’t refinance in this market? (Talk about a win-win!)
Of course, lots of others in Washington are getting away with the “I apologize for being an incompetent” defense. The Obama administration has loaded up on lobbyists; at least three of its top nominees to high-level positions have been exposed as tax evaders. What’s a sweetheart mortgage or two?
Not so long ago, Democrats ran on the “culture of corruption” issue. Who knew that was actually a campaign promise?
Ed Morrissey is a writer at hotair.com.