August 13, 2008

Washington, DC – Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) have sent an official request for an Ethics Committee investigation into disturbing allegations, first reported in Conde Nast Portfolio, that Countrywide gave illegal gifts prohibited by House rules.

“The serious and broad allegation that Members of Congress, Congressional staff, and other officials were given preferential treatment – in the form of a gift from a corporation when mortgage lender Countrywide gave them loans on preferential terms – needs to be investigated,” wrote Issa and Souder to Chairman Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Ranking Member Doc Hastings.

The complaint to the Ethics Committee follows two requests by Reps. Issa and Souder for an Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigation to Chairman Henry Waxman.  In his response, Waxman likened the controversy with Countrywide to the Jack Abramoff investigation but stated, “because the issues you raise would require the Committee to investigate the conduct of members, the precedents of the Committee indicate that the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct would be the appropriate venue for the issues you have raised.”

Issa and Souder also responded directly to Chairman Waxman that they would forward his response to the Ethics Committee and that the precedent set by the Jack Abramoff investigation actually supports the committee conducting a probe of Countrywide VIP programs pertaining to the conduct of Franklin Raines, James Johnson, and others at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Administration officials.

“The allegations of illegal gift giving swirling around the Country VIP program are broad and serious,” said Issa.  “In a Congress that was supposed to emphasize ethics, it’s disappointing that no committee chairman seems to want to claim jurisdiction and investigate the nexus between the mortgage crisis and public officials who got too cozy with these lenders.”

“Since the allegations surrounding the Friends of Angelo list first surfaced, I’ve been urging an investigation,” Souder said. “I’ve also introduced the Financial Disclosure and Integrity Act to urge transparency and ethics reform in this area”

Copies of the letters to Reps. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Doc Hastings, and Henry Waxman as well as the July 28 correspondence from Rep. Waxman are attached.