Dem Committee Chair Hid House Members' Countrywide Loans

Rep. Townes did it while Countrywide was under investigation. Issa reversed the rule, uncovering VIP loans by Countrywide to Congressmen including Townes. The NY rep will likely be re-elected with 70+ percent of the vote

A Democratic committee chairman overrode his own subpoena three years ago in an investigation of former subprime mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. 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.