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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bentway who wrote (391753)	6/17/2008 12:44:00 PM
From: longnshort	Respond to of 1573921

scandal "The Countrywide Financial sweetheart-loan scandal continues to grow, spreading to senators and other Beltway potentates. We are about to find out if Congress' passion for investigating business ethics extends to conflicts of interest and cash that involve fellow members," the Wall Street Journal says in an editorial. "Take Sen. Kent Conrad, the North Dakota Democrat whose office issued a Friday statement saying that 'I never met Angelo Mozilo.' What he did not say then but admitted under later questioning by a Journal reporter is that, although he may not have had a face-to-face meeting with the Countrywide CEO, Mr. Conrad had called Mr. Mozilo and asked for a loan. The result was a discounted loan on his million-dollar beach house and a separate commercial loan of a type that residential lender Countrywide did not even offer to other customers, regardless of the rate," the Journal said. "So after calling the CEO of a company with various matters before the Senate, asking for a loan and then receiving at least two sweetheart deals, Mr. Conrad now says: 'I did not think for one moment - and no one ever suggested to me - that I was getting preferential treatment.' Lawyers will immediately wonder if this isn't a version of the 'ostrich defense,' which judges describe during jury instruction as willful blindness or deliberate ignorance. For what other reason, besides preferential treatment, would one call the CEO of the mortgage company? Does Mr. Conrad call August Busch IV when he wants to buy a six-pack?"

To: bentway who wrote (391753)	6/17/2008 4:20:30 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1573921

Yup. Countrywide waived a point on Conrad's loan." The fact the wingnut are trying to gin up a scandal from this is a measure of their desperation, and acknowledgment of how damaged their brand is. The waived points probably save the borrowers 70k. Actually, the loan amount was $1.07 million. By waiving one point, he gained $10,070 on the deal. The whole thing is a joke......at least so far. The last (R) financial scandal was the RNC national treasurer, that stole 500k from the party - and THAT was too small potatoes to make a real scandal. The Bushie cronies skim that much out of Iraq and the "war on terror" every WEEK. That's right.