Bloggers push results in Dodd mortgage action – Updated

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Countrywide) has announced that he will refinance his mortgages through a third party and switch them to a different broker.

Dodd maintains that he was not a friend of Angelo, and has been wrongly accused of requesting favorable rates from Countrywide. I assume that the Senate Ethics Committee investigation continues. Guess he still does not get that he is held to a higher standard, especially when you are the chairman of the United States Senate Banking Committee.

Dodd has been pressured by this blog, Glenn Renoylds at Instapundit and Kevin Rennie at the Hartford Courant.

From the AP…

Sen. Chris Dodd says he’ll refinance two mortgages that he received through a VIP program from Countrywide Financial Corp.

Dodd told reporters in his Hartford office Monday that the mortgages for his homes in Washington and East Haddam, Conn. will be refinanced with a different company.

The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee says a third party will be involved in choosing the new bank.

Dodd has acknowledged receiving mortgages in 2003 through a VIP program at Countrywide, which was sold to Bank of America Corp. earlier this year and has been the focus of allegations that it gave favorable loan terms to lawmakers.

Dodd says he’s moving the loans in part because he was wrongfully labeled a friend of Countrywide’s former CEO, Angelo Mozilo. Dodd says he never sought special treatment.

Malkin and Hot Air are on it.

Our previous articles…

• The heat is on
• Where in the world are Chris Dodd’s mortgage papers?
• Waiting for Dodd
• More Chris Dodd
• The Countrywide scandal widens
• NBC investigates Dodd and Countrywide
• Welcome to Whoville Chris Dodd
• Dodd and Countrywide, the saga continues
• Taking a closer look at Dodd’s mortgage

Oh heck, just click here to run a search at our site.

Update: Here is video from an interview with Alan Cohn at WTNH. Thanks to commentor Rick-WH for the tip.

UPDATE (Jim):

Senator Chris Dodd announcing today he intends to refinance his two “Countrywide” mortgages made me think a bit.

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd said he’ll refinance two mortgages that he received through a VIP program from Countrywide Financial Corp. Sen. Dodd told reporters in his Hartford office Monday that the mortgages for his homes in Washington and East Haddam, Conn., will be refinanced with a different company. The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee said a third party will be involved in choosing the new bank.

“I just wanted to put this behind us,” said Sen. Dodd, speaking to reporters in his Hartford office.

My guess is it was more a question of having to refinance … or face a likely pretty hefty bump in his current two mortgages. Let’s take a look at what we know:

Senator Dodd received two loans in 2003 through Countrywide’s V.I.P. program. He borrowed $506,000 to refinance his Washington townhouse, and $275,042 to refinance a home in East Haddam, Connecticut. Countrywide waived three-eighths of a point, or about $2,000, on the first loan, and one-fourth of a point, about $700, on the second, according to internal documents. Both loans were for 30 years, with the first five years at a fixed rate.

The interest rate on the loans, originally pegged at 4.875%, was reduced to 4.25% on the Washington home and 4.5% on the Connecticut property by the time the loans were funded. The lower rates save the senator about $58,000 on his Washington residence over the life of the loan, and $17,000 on the Connecticut home. The former employee says the float-downs were free. Senator Dodd’s wife, Jackie Clegg, said in a brief interview that two other lenders they checked with offered comparable interest rates. The senator’s office said Thursday afternoon that it is preparing a response.

Dodd’s current 4 and quarter rate would likely be readjusted to something a good bit higher than 5% … depending of course on the terms of the original mortgage (for instance there might be a cap, or not)… which of course we don’t know because he has not released his papers. Current fixed rates range between 5 and 7% depending on the bank, the location of the home, and of course if you are a member of the Democratic Congress. Given the $800,000 in mortgage loans … that’s a lot of dough he’ll have to fork over.

Call me cynical but to me it looks like this refinance is matter of personal necessity rather than some sudden quest for a more ethical loan agreement.

What’s more, there are plenty of people facing similar circumstances on their own homes these days. Some just can’t find a bank willing to refinance, and others, Democrats remind us frequently,  are losing their homes because their rates are being bumped into the “unaffordable” range. My guess is is neither will be a problem for Connecticut’s senior Senator.

Oh and one more time …Where in the world are Chris Dodd’s Mortgage Papers?