A New Feature: Introducing the Promises Clock — ProPublica

A New Feature: Introducing the Promises Clock

Jan. 12, 2009, 4:04 p.m. EST

WDCPIX Politicians and officials make promises all the time, so they can be forgiven if they occasionally lose track of what they said they would do and when. We created a countdown feature on our front page to make it easier for us and them to see how many days – and hours, minutes and seconds – have passed since their initial vow. Any other promises you'd like us to put a timer on? Send them to our suggestion box.

We kick off with two clocks:

1. Sen. Christopher Dodd's (D-CT) promise back in July to release his mortgage documents after it was reported that he received some friendly deals from Countrywide Financial Corp. He maintains that the deals, as far as he knew, was not related to his position on the Senate banking committee, which oversees the mortgage industry.

2. The Treasury Department's promise to reveal how much it's paying to Bank of New York Mellon to be the TARP custodian.

Here's background on both promises.

Do you have promises you'd like us to start a clock on? Send them our way.

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