In this July 8, 2009 file photo, Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y. speaks during a committee hearing on Capitol Hill, in Washington. Towns, a former Democratic committee chairman overrode his own subpoena three years ago in an investigation of former subprime lender Countrywide, making it unlikely that House members and staff who received discounted mortgages would be identified. The procedure to keep the names secret was devised by Towns, In 2003, the 15-term congressman had two loans processed by Countrywideís VIP section that gave discounts to favored borrowers. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)LARRY MARGASAK
WASHINGTON (AP) – A Democratic committee chairman overrode his own subpoena three years ago in an investigation of former subprime mortgage lender Countrywide to exclude records showing that he, other House members and congressional aides got VIP discounted loans from the company, documents show.
The procedure to keep the names secret was devised by Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y. In 2003, the 15-term congressman had two loans processed by Countrywide’s VIP section, which was established to give discounts to favored borrowers.
The effort at secrecy was reversed when Towns’ Republican successor as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, California Rep. Darrell Issa, issued a second subpoena. It yielded Countrywide records identifying four current House members, a former member and five staff aides whose loans went through the VIP unit. Towns was on the list.
Most of the names had dribbled out to the media by the time Issa issued the committee’s final report last month on Countrywide’s use of loan discounts to buy influence with government officials. But there was no official confirmation until Issa made his report public.