Dodd denies knowledge of VIP loan rate

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) would never ask or expect favorable treatment from mortgage lenders, he said in a statement responding to reports he received VIP rates from Countrywide Financial.

“As a United States senator, I would never ask or expect to be treated differently than anyone else refinancing their home,” said Dodd, who as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee oversees the home loan industry. “This suggestion is outrageous and contrary to my entire career in public service.”

{mosads}Dodd, who has been working on legislation to respond to the housing crisis, said he refinanced his home in 2003.

“When my wife and I refinanced our loans in 2003, we did not seek or expect any favorable treatment. Just like millions of other Americans, we shopped around and received competitive rates,” he said in the statement.

Dodd's statement came as Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) wrote to the Senate and House ethics committees on Friday asking for investigations into members of Congress that may have received loans in violation of existing gift bans.

Ethics watchdogs hesitated to say whether Dodd may have run afoul of congressional gift or ethics rules. The matter, first reported on Conde Nast Portfolio’s website late on Thursday, raises red flags, the experts said, but may not indicate wrongdoing.

“It’s potentially a problem in that, when members of Congress receive loans and make any business deals, they’re supposed to be treated like every other citizen,” said Meredith McGehee, policy director for the Campaign Legal Center.

The Portfolio story also said Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) received favorable treatment on a home loan. It said both senators received favorable loan terms on mortgages from Countrywide Financial in 2003 and 2004 as part of chief executive Angelo Mozilo’s “Friend of Angelo” program.

McGehee added that Dodd may have done nothing wrong if he didn’t know about the special treatment. “He may not have been aware that he was in the ‘Friends of Angelo.' I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt,” she said.

James Johnson, who was chosen by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to help vet possible vice presidential candidates for his campaign, stepped down from that post on Wednesday after reports he received special discounts on mortgages from Countrywide.

Other ethics experts also said the report could be troubling for Dodd. Craig Holman, a lobbyist for Public Citizen, said it “would certainly raise flags” if the details in the Portfolio story were accurate.

“If that story is true, it is very troubling,” said Mary Boyle, a spokeswoman for Common Cause. “Elected officials and prominent people should not be getting better deals than what Joe Citizen gets.”