From the NY Times:As chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Representative Edolphus Towns has not been shy about criticizing the excesses of the financial services industry, from executive bonuses to Wall Street profits, as well as the spotty track record of some bond-rating agencies.
But his refusal to subpoena records involving Countrywide Financial, a company blamed for lending practices that contributed to the subprime mortgage crisis, has made Mr. Towns himself the target of criticism.
For months, Mr. Towns, a Brooklyn Democrat, has rebuffed Republican efforts to subpoena documents concerning Countrywide’s V.I.P. program, which gave special treatment to high-profile customers, including federal mortgage regulators and at least two United States senators. The standoff took on a more personal tone last month, when a published report said that two loans issued through the program were given to Mr. Towns.
3 comments:
Nooo!
No! No! No!
Towns is no swindler!
He is simply trying to defend the honor and good names of Dodd and Kent Conrad, two of the most honest and decent elected officials in our nation's history.
Why would a mortgage loan company ever try to besmirch the stellar reputation of the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee?
What possible benefit would come from issuing an unusually low-interest mortgage loan to a Banking Committee chairman?
And the same question applies to a low-interest loan to Conrad, Chairman of the Senate Budget committee?
Why would any patriotic business shift the cost of a loan to other customers who don't even live in those senators' home states?
So, Towns, another patriot, is just doing his job: deflecting criticism of fellow Democrats.
Refusing to participate with Republicans who want answers is a form of bipartisanship. He is PROTECTING the Republicans from themselves.
No. Towns is not just another swindler!
"Listen to what I say, not as I do".
Of course, he wouldn't go ahead and cut the branch he's sitting on. But talk is cheap...
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