A long-brewing scandal surrounding special treatment given to elected officials and congressional staff by subprime mortgage lender Countrywide Financial logged another chapter this week, as the House Committee on Oversight released its report investigating Countrywide’s VIP loan program.

One thing the report does not mention, however: that the members of congress named as beneficiaries of special mortgage deals also received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the mortgage giant. Six lawmakers who are either currently serving in Congress or recently retired, and who took VIP loans from Countrywide according to the report, collectively received over $105,000 in donations from company’s PAC and employees between the 1990 and 2008 election cycles, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis. Countrywide was bought out by Bank of America in 2008 during the housing crisis. Three of the lawmakers are among the top ten all-time recipients of the company’s affiliated campaign cash, according to the Center’s research. The report accuses Countrywide of offering sweetheart loan deals to key members of Congress in an attempt to influence politics and policy in Congress. It also names names, implicating several members of Congress who represent both sides of the aisle.

Member Name Countrywide Contributions, 1989-2008 Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) $38,750 Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) $20,000 Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) $18,000 Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) $16,120 Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) $9,000 Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) $3,500 Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), now the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is the top congressional recipient of Countrywide donations. The Texas Republican has banked more than $38,750 between his campaign committee and leadership PAC.

Former Sen. Chris Dodd is the No. 5 all-time recipient of Countrywide-affiliated donations. Dodd, who chaired the Senate banking committee while it considered financial reforms which could have affected Countrywide’s operations, received $20,000 while in Congress.

Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) rounded out the top nine, taking $18,000 — $4,500 in campaign contributions and $13,500 for his leadership PAC.

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), and Reps. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) and Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) also received VIP loans that offered special services and pricing from Countrywide, according to a report from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. They were also targets of Countrywide’s political influence budget, according to the Center’s analysis.

Gallegly’s $16,120 placed him eleventh among Countrywide’s top congressional recipients. Conrad and Towns received campaign funds to the tune of $9,000 and $3,500 respectively.

The committee, which is chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), found that several elected officials and congressional staff who held influence over potential financial reform efforts took the loans and that Countrywide lobbied on bills overseen by lawmakers who benefited from the deals.

Dodd and Conrad were both investigated and cleared of wrong doing by the Senate ethics panel. Politico reports that all lawmakers identified by the report have said that they had no knowledge of favorable treatment. The report also notes that Sessions requested that Countrywide not give him any special pricing.



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