Republicans seek probe of sweetheart mortgages

Two Republicans are calling on the ethics committee to investigate whether House members and aides received sweetheart deals on their home mortgages.

In a letter sent Tuesday to the ethics panel, Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Mark Souder (R-Ind.) contend that the “serious and broad allegation that members of Congress, congressional staff and other officials were given preferential treatment … needs to be investigated.”

{mosads}Member requests to launch ethics committee investigations are rare, and this one is unusual because it doesn’t target one member. Instead, it could ensnare many members, staffers and other federal officials.

Issa and Souder last month called on House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) to probe the matter. In a response letter to the two members, Waxman deferred to the ethics committee “because the issues you raise would require the [Oversight and Government Reform] Committee to investigate the conduct of members …”

In June, Portfolio magazine reported that housing reform bill architect and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) received special deals on their mortgages from Countrywide. Both claimed they had no knowledge that they were receiving special treatment.

Portfolio recently reported that House staff and former federal officials also received preferential treatment on their mortgages.

Issa told The Hill in an interview on Tuesday that he would continue to press the issues raised in the Portfolio articles. He expressed doubt that the matter would be resolved by the ethics committee in a timely manner.

“I intend to push hard,” he said, adding he will ask House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to assist in efforts to investigate whether oversight in Congress and the administration “was softened by VIP discounts that amount to bribery.”

{mospagebreak}Issa said it was critical to find out how the “growing disaster” that led to the bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae was missed by the administration, claiming the amount promised to the mortgage giants could end up being trillions of taxpayer dollars.

Issa and Souder informed Waxman in a letter Tuesday that they are following up with the ethics panel, even though they believe that the panel’s precedent, set by the Clinton campaign finance and Jack Abramoff controversies, would allow the Oversight Committee to tackle the mortgage issues and conduct oversight on individuals who are not members of Congress.

The Oversight Committee confirmed it received the letter but offered no further comment. The ethics committee also declined to comment.

{mosads}In an earlier letter to Souder and Issa Waxman wrote, “During the Clinton campaign finance investigation, some members of the committee requested that the committee’s investigation be extended to examine the fundraising activities of members of Congress … The decision made by [then-]Chairman Dan Burton (R-Ind.) was to defer on these issues to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, which has primary jurisdiction over the conduct of members.”

He added that Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), the former chairman and current ranking member of the Oversight Committee, followed the same precedent during the investigation of imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff by limiting the committee probe to Abramoff’s dealings with the White House.

In a June letter to Waxman, Issa and Souder noted that Congress was debating a massive housing reform bill: “Given the fact that Congress is actively considering bailing out Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Countrywide, and other lenders it is essential that Congress investigate to determine the extent that public officials and staff have been compromised by improper gifts.”