More than 200 days have passed since Conde Nast Portfolio broke the story on Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd’s two sweetheart mortgage deals from Countrywide Financial but our Senior U.S. Senator has shown no signs of breaking his stonewall silence – even after all this time.

The facts, as we know them now, are clear: Senator Dodd obtained two ‘jumbo’ mortgages for his townhouse in Washington and his place in East Haddam at interest rates of 4.25% and 4.5%, sugared with waived fees and free floatdowns, the net savings of which has been estimated at $70,000 over the life of the loans.  The man who is now Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee didn’t receive all these perks because he was a swell guy – he got them because he was a ‘Friend of Angelo’ – Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of Countrywide Financial – which put Dodd into the company’s “VIP program” for heavy hitters.

Dodd responded to the allegations by spinning up his Irish temper and emphatically swearing that he didn’t know Mozilo, didn’t realize his good deal wasn’t just a good deal, and that he thought the VIP program was more like a Big Y Express Savings Card membership.  Nonetheless, Senator Dodd promised, he would release all of the documents pertaining to the loans and come clean about the deals.  Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota, who was also implicated in the VIP program, quickly donated his windfall to charity and refinanced his properties with another lender.  Dodd, on the other hand, has remained mute on the matter ever since.

MSNBC revealed that the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity section has been investigating the matter, including spending several hours interviewing Robert Feinberg, the Countrywide employee who was primarily charged with handling the VIP mortgages.  The possibility of a criminal prosecution seems farfetched at this point, especially with the new boss of the Justice Department being none other than Eric Holder, the Clinton-era attorney who ran Bubba’s version of a VIP program - trading favors & gifts for Presidential pardons.  Don’t hold your breath for DoJ action on this one.

Dodd, for what its worth, has said that after the Senate Ethics Committee investigation is complete, then he’ll answer all the questions that are posed of him.  The Senate Ethics Committee, of course, has the legal relevance roughly equivalent to that of an old episode of “Night Court”.

Mr. Dodd would be wise to drop the foolishness and start giving answers. The people of Connecticut are tiring of Dodd’s games, as is evidenced by the latest Q Polling data. A whopping 41% of Nutmeggers told Q that they disapproved of Dodd’s work as U.S. Senator – his highest unfavorable rating ever. Grassroots activists are standing up in opposition – spanning from a ‘Dump Chris Dodd’ movement to a wonderfully articulate anti-Dodd blog “The Artful Doddger“. 

And with Dodd’s 2010 election just over the horizon, candidates are starting to line up.  The first announced candidate seems likely to be an advisor to former GOP Presidential candidate Ron Paul.  Peter Schiff of Darien has a campaign website which is laden with his television appearances and writings, a Wikipedia page, and a Facebook group.  Ron Paul’s followers made up a fiery band in 2008 and seem likely to do so again in Connecticut via a Schiff candidacy.

After 201 days, it is time for Senator Dodd to stop the stonewalling and start telling the truth.  For our part, CTGOP will stay on our Dodd Watch vigil until he comes clean or we defeat him in 2010 – whichever comes first.