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Two senators got special deals from mortgage-mess player

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WASHINGTON — Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad said Saturday he is donating $10,500 to charity and refinancing his loan on an apartment building after reviewing documents showing he received special treatment from Countrywide Financial Corp.

Conrad said it appears that Countrywide waived 1 point on his mortgage for a Bethany Beach, Del., vacation home. He said he would donate the equivalent amount of money to Habitat for Humanity.

"Although I did not ask for or know that I was receiving a discount, and even though I was offered a competitive loan from another lender, I do not want to have received preferential treatment," the North Dakota Democrat said in a statement.

Conrad said it also appears he was given special treatment on a mortgage when he was financing the purchase of a Bismarck, N.D., apartment building from his brothers. He said he would refinance that loan.

Conrad, who is also a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said he reviewed Countrywide e-mails described to him by the media after it was reported that he and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, got preferential treatment on their mortgages.

Their involvement in a special program that awarded discounts and waived fees for "friends" of Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo was first reported by a Conde Nast Web site.

Conrad said Friday that he had placed a personal call to Mozilo in 2002 seeking a mortgage for the Delaware home. But he said Countrywide's rates were competitive with another offer he received.

"I called (Mozilo). I said, 'I'm buying this property. Would you be interested in the mortgage?' And he said, 'Yeah. Call these people and we'll take a look,' " Conrad said.

"I did not think for one moment — and no one ever suggested to me — that I was getting preferential treatment," Conrad said.

Dodd, one of four Senate Dem-ocrats who pursued his party's presidential nomination, has been a leader of Congress' efforts to help homeowners caught in the subprime crisis and once called Countrywide's practices "abusive." Dodd also says he wasn't aware he was getting a special deal.

The disclosures come just days after similar revelations about former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson prompted Barack Obama to ax Johnson from his vice presidential vetting team.