The U.S. Senate should take a close look at the relationships involved in the preferential-loan mess.

It involves two senators, Democrats Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Kent Conrad of North Dakota, as well as others who received special deals from a major player in the subprime mortgage crisis.

Both senators claim they had no idea they were receiving preferential treatment from Countrywide Financial. Conrad, however, has acknowledged calling Countrywide’s CEO, Angelo Mozilo.

In an e-mail, Mozilo directed employees to “take off 1 point” for the Conrad loan, and to “make an exception due to the fact that the borrower is a senator.”

Others receiving loans under Countrywide’s “Friends of Angelo” VIP program included former Bush housing secretary Alphonso Jackson; former Clinton cabinet members Richard Holbrooke and Donna Shalala; and two former Fannie Mae CEOs, Franklin Raines and Jim Johnson.

This is hardly the biggest Washington scandal to come down the pike; the savings doled out to the Friends of Angelo apparently were between several hundred to several thousand dollars. But it raises serious questions.

Dodd and Conrad are on committees with jurisdictions that affect Countrywide’s industry. Countrywide’s aggressive lending played a role in the subprime mortgage crisis.

Another red flag is the presence of Raines and Johnson — the two former Fannie Mae CEOs — among the Friends of Angelo. Fannie Mae buys loans from mortgage lenders; last year, Countrywide was the largest source of such loans.

Senate ethics rules bar members from knowingly receiving gifts of more than $100 in value from entities that employ lobbyists, such as Countrywide.

If Dodd and Conrad really had no knowledge of special deals, they shouldn’t mind a more probing look into how they came by their discounts.