The committee was asked to examine Mr. Dodd’s 2003 receipt of two “Friends of Angelo” loans, named for Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo, who coincidentally has an October trial date on civil fraud charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Despite testimony from a Countrywide loan officer that Mr. Dodd received, and knew he was receiving, preferential treatment, the committee found “no substantial credible evidence” that the Connecticut Democrat broke Senate rules.

When the ethics committee let Mr. Dodd walk with a mere admonishment to avoid the appearance of impropriety, the committee noted that it had examined his relationship with the company going back to 1999. But what the committee did not say at the time was that Mr. Dodd had received as many as six VIP loans, including refinancings, from Countrywide Financial, not just the two in 2003 that triggered the investigation.

This information comes to the public courtesy of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Were there other pols receiving VIP loans, besides Mr. Dodd and Senator Kent Conrad (D., N.D.), who also received a mere committee admonishment last year? Under a bipartisan deal, any such information resulting from the House investigation has been confidentially forwarded to the Senate and House ethics committees.

We urge the ethics Solons in both parties to by all means admonish away, but at least disclose before November which elected officials were friends of Angelo. This scandal is the reason Mr. Dodd isn’t running for re-election, and if the committee is unwilling to mete out justice to dear colleagues, it should at least allow voters the chance to do so