John Fund on corruption in congress

John Fund has this interesting piece of information at today's WSJ's Political Diary:

A glaring loophole in Congressional disclosure rules has been revealed in the wake of news that both Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad and Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd received preferential treatment that saved them thousands of dollars on their mortgages from Countrywide Financial Corp.

It turns out that nothing, literally nothing, about the mortgages or homes of Members of Congress is required on the disclosure forms that everyone in Congress fills out every year. The only exception is if the property generates rental income. Otherwise, the rates paid on mortgages, the size of any home loans and the companies that handle the mortgages are exempt from reporting requirements. . . .

The loophole certainly facilitated Countrywide's "Friends of Angelo" program that allowed CEO Angelo Mozilo to shower Washington potentates with "VIP service" that he told his loan officers "should knock their socks off." Senator Dodd acknowledged yesterday that he was told in 2003 that he was a beneficiary of the VIP program, but assumed it was due to his status as a longtime Countrywide customer. Mr. Dodd said there "was no red flag" that he'd gotten special treatment.