Posted on 08/19/2007 8:11:22 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Embarrassed presidential hopeful John Edwards promised yesterday to take millions of dollars of his own fortune out of a hedge fund tied to subprime lenders who foreclosed on victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The populist candidate - who has denounced such lenders - invested $16 million of his $30 million in assets in Fortress Investment Group. The Wall Street Journal reported that 34 New Orleans homeowners struggling to overcome Katrina's aftermath faced foreclosure suits from subprime-lending units of Fortress.
Yesterday, the red-faced Democratic candidate vowed to remove from his portfolio any Fortress funds that have a stake in those lender units.
"I will not have my family's money involved in these firms that are foreclosing on people in New Orleans," he said while on the campaign trial in Des Moines, Iowa.
When Fortress' connections to subprime lenders were reported in May, Edwards said he was unaware of it and would ask the company to help Katrina victims faced with losing their homes.
Sources said Edwards spoke to senior Fortress executives and was assured something would be done.
But the Journal's disclosures indicated the foreclosures were still being pursued and that led him to decide yesterday to divest his stake, they said.
Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, has other connections to Fortress. He worked for the firm as a senior adviser after his losing 2004 race as Sen. John Kerry's vice-presidential running mate. He was paid $479,512 for part-time work last year, records show.
Fortress executives also have donated more than $150,000 to Edwards' campaign during the first six months of the year.
A spokesman for the campaign said he didn't know how quickly Edwards would be able to divest the controversial funds. He declined to say whether Edwards would give back the adviser's fee or the campaign contributions.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Who is he kidding? He’s pulling out of subprime mortage hedge funds because EVERYONE is pulling out of subprime mortgage hedge funds!
They’re losing money.
John Edwards doesn’t give a hoot about Katrina victims.
Not so fast John. This fund is about to be closed for redemptions because there is not bid. You don’t expect to go to the front of the line, do you?
He cares about them insomuch as they’ll vote for him...
The blood of millions are on his conscience!
The idea that anyone takes this clown even remotely serious blows me away. He makes Kerry look deep.
Two Americas, I tell ya!
No wonder Edwards won’t appear on Fox. He is amazingly crooked.
Funny. The MSM calls Hugo Chavez the “populist” also.
Wonder if there’s a connection
Wonder how the little woman’s gonna get him out of this one?
2) Deadwards got caught and is NOW piously distancing himself from something he had parked over 50% of his liquid assets in.
What a cheeseball!
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Don’t you know who he is?
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