Dems in up to their necks in this mortgage crisis

Of course they had no knowledge whatsoever that they were getting sweet deals. No of course they didn't know. Countrywide created a program called "Friends of Angelo" so they could give standard mortgages at the going rates to very important people. Ok, right!

Countrywide Made Home Loans to Gorelick, Mudd - WSJ.com

Countrywide Made Home Loans to Gorelick, Mudd
Leading Democrat, Ousted Fannie Chief Deny Any Favoritism

By GLENN R. SIMPSON


Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, made large, previously undisclosed home loans to two additional executives of Fannie Mae, the government-chartered firm at the center of the U.S. credit crisis.

One of Countrywide's previously undisclosed customers at Fannie was Jamie Gorelick, an influential Democratic Party figure whose $960,000 mortgage refinancing in 2003 was handled through a program reserved for influential figures and friends of Countrywide's chief executive at the time, Angelo Mozilo. Ms. Gorelick was Fannie Mae's vice chairman at the time.
[Former Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick, listening to testimony on Capitol Hill in April, got a Countrywide refinancing while at Fannie Mae.] Associated Press

Former Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick, listening to testimony on Capitol Hill in April, got a Countrywide refinancing while at Fannie Mae.

Another Countrywide client was recently ousted Fannie Mae Chief Executive Daniel Mudd, though it isn't clear whether he received special treatment on two $3 million mortgage refinancings he made when he was the company's chief operating officer.

In an interview, Ms. Gorelick said she had no knowledge of receiving special treatment. A financial adviser to Mr. Mudd said he received interest rates in line with the prevailing market.

The Fannie loans -- including a series of already reported preferential loans to former Fannie chief executives James Johnson and Franklin Raines -- underscore the close connections between Countrywide and Fannie Mae and raise potential conflict-of-interest issues.

Countrywide loans on preferential terms to influential figures are the subject of a federal grand jury investigation in Los Angeles, according to people involved in the inquiry. Prosecutors subpoenaed records of many of the so-called "Friends of Angelo" loans in August, lawyers and others familiar with the matter said.

A Fannie Mae spokesman declined to comment for this article.