Former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and former U.N. ambassador and assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke also benefited, as did one prominent Republican — former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson.

Shalala and Holbrooke had left public office when they got their deals. But it was reasonable for Mozilo to think they'd serve again in another Democratic administration.

And what, many wonder, was the quid pro quo for all this?

Just a month ago, in unusually harsh language, Dodd ripped into President Bush on the subprime mess and defended a $400 billion plan that would bail out the subprime lending industry — including Mozilo.

The Democrats' initial response has been to stall. They hope the problem will disappear until after the election. They need to investigate it fully, immediately and without prejudice — or risk having it blow up in their faces.

Major Networks Avoid Dem Senators' Countrywide Loan Scandals

As we've noted at NewsBusters, there's been scant coverage of a new scandal involving Sens. Chris Dodd (Conn.) and Kent Conrad (N.D.). Both senators chair committees with oversight of the financial industry and Dodd is behind a bailout package for mortgage lender Countrywide. Both senators got "VIP" treatment from Countrywide Financial for refinancing agreements on their respective mortgages.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/ken-shepherd/2008/06/18/major-networks-avoid-dem-senators-countrywide-loan-scandals