It seems to me the matter has been cleared up.
Quote:
Senate Ethics Committee dismissed complaint after spending nearly a year reviewing 18,000 pages of documents. On August 7, the Select Committee on Ethics wrote to Dodd that "the Committee finds no substantial credible evidence as required by Committee rules that your Countrywide mortgages violated Senate ethics rules."
The letter stated:After examining the extensive record before it, the Committee found no credible evidence that you knowingly accepted a gift, including a loan not available to the public.
First, your mortgages were made in a commercially-reasonable manner based on terms and conditions available to borrowers with similar loan profiles. While your Countrywide loans were handled through the V.I.P. loan unit and designated as F.O.A. loans, the service you received was available to thousands of other non-Senate customers at Countrywide and the loans you received appear to have been available industry-wide to borrowers with comparable loan profiles. It appears your loans met all applicable underwriting standards and that you and your wife were excellent loan candidates and established Countrywide customers in good standing. You sought competing mortgage offers from other lenders that offered terms substantially similar to the ones Countrywide provided. There is no evidence that the interest rates for your Countrywide mortgages were below prevailing market rates.
Second, there is no credible evidence that you sought or knowingly received any financial benefits not available to other borrowers with similar loan profiles. The Committee has found no evidence that you or your wife ever asked for special treatment or that anyone ever communicated to you or your family that you were receiving specific discounts or other special treatment not available to other borrowers because of your status as a Senator.
Third, there is no credible evidence that you used your official position for personal gain. The Committee found no evidence that you fully understood the scope of the V.I.P. program, knew that you were in the "Friends of Angelo" program, or attempted to use your status as a Senator to receive loan terms not available to the public. Letter (pdf)
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I know this wont satisfy some...who want to kick him (or them all) out, regardless of having a cause of action.
An appearance of wrong-doing, while it makes for good media and perhaps even questionable judgement, is not an ethics violation or a crime.