U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd has paid a very well connected law firm around $60,000 since July of 2008. And these guys were not put on the pad to navigate a few parking tickets.  Ted Mann of The Day brought some of this in focus on his blog – The Trough -showing that Sen. Dodd might be in hotter federal water than has been disclosed.

The firm, Perkins and Coie has a dozen offices around the globe and most recently won a high profile case against the federal government that prevents Military Commissions from prosecuting terrorists held at Guantanamo.

Today, we are continuing our call for full disclosure of Sen. Dodd’s tangled financial dealings with Countrywide Financial, one the corrupt financial engines of the sub prime mortgage fiasco.

Sen. Dodd has denied wrong-doing but has fought for 216 days to release routine mortgage documents that would shed light on the two deals he got at below market rate as well as forgiveness of fees  and closing costs.

The time has long since past for Sen. Dodd to collect the information the public needs to see to judge whether he and his wife enjoyed priviledges lesser mortals would not be privy to.

Countrywide Financial, led by CEO Angelo Mozillo, handed out billions in unsecured or dubious mortgages over the last few years, often with complicity of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Everyone got rich through the collection of fees. Both of these players gave heavily to Sen. Dodd’s Presidential and Senate campaigns.

In fact, anyone with a financial interest before Dodd’s Banking and Urban Afffairs Committee funds Dodd’s campaigns. As chairman, Dodd is supposed to w atch out for the depositor, us, rather than those who have made a mess of the free market system.

While Dodd wandered in the snow banks of Iowa, looking for someone to back him for President, banks, mortgage companies, investment firms began to crumble. Dodd never saw it coming and even told the public that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were solid financially, three days before the sought federal assistance.

Then, when the Bush Administration printed $350  billion to help secure the financial system, Sen. Dodd went along, only to complain and second-guess later about its effectiveness.

All the while, Sen. Dodd has bristled when reporters ask about the release of the documents. He has traveled to safe political locations in Connecticut and made broad pronouncements on keeping people in their homes and opening a new federal ventire to promote mass transit.

Sen. Dodd hopes all of this will go away. He frequently dismisses reporters or fails to return phone calls. Now the media, like the people, have had enough.

This nation is about to start anew. Why can’t Sen. Dodd follow some age old requirements of public service – accountability, honesty and transparency?