Dodd not ready to release mortgage papers

HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., says he is not prepared to release documents related to two controversial Countrywide Financial Corp. mortgages.

The senior senator from Connecticut said following a speech this week in Hartford, Conn., he was not ready to release information regarding the mortgages, which prompted an ethics inquiry, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant said Thursday.

"Not right now. No," the senator said Wednesday about the documents' release.

The Senate Banking Committee chairman has maintained he did nothing wrong in relation to $2,700 in savings and low loan rates he received from Countrywide when refinancing two homes. The company says it gave the senator the cost savings in 2003 as a result of his entry in the financial group's "VIP" program.

"There is nothing to the story, and I'm just not going to keep on repeating it," Dodd said. "There are issues people are worried about ... losing their homes ... getting this economy back on its feet."

An unidentified aide to Dodd told the Courant the senator does plan on releasing the documents in the future, but did not offer a specific date.