WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- A U.S. Senate panel said Friday Sens. Christopher Dodd and Kent Conrad have been cleared of complaints they used their positions to get low-interest loans.
But the panel said the two should have been more careful to avoid the appearance of preferential treatment.
The Senate Ethics Committee said it found "no substantial credible evidence" Dodd and Conrad had violated Senate ethics rules in receiving the loans from Countrywide Financial Corp., the Washington Post reported.
Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat., chairman of the banking committee, and Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat, chairman of the Budget Committee, were under scrutiny to determine if they received special treatment as members of Countrywide's VIP program. The ethics committee's yearlong investigation, however, found the senators did not appear to profit financially, the Post said.
The committee said the loans received by Dodd and Conrad appear to have been available industry-wide to borrowers with comparable loan profiles.
Dodd and Conrad were among politicians included in the Friends of Angelo VIP program, named for Angelo R. Mozilo, Countrywide's former chief executive and a key figure in the subprime mortgage collapse.
The bipartisan ethics committee said it appears members of the program weren't neccesarily getting Countrywide's best deals. The committee, however, told the senators in letters Friday they should have "exercised more vigilance … to avoid the appearance that you were receiving preferential treatment based on your status as senator."
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which filed the ethics complaint, criticized the committee's decision.
"As is its practice, the Senate Ethics Committee has cleared the senators of any wrongdoing despite the fact that the senators participated in a program the committee found 'offered quicker, more efficient loan processing and some discounts'," Melanie Sloan, the group's executive director, said in a statement.
