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John Edwards Fund Foreclosed on Homes
On the campaign trail, Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards has railed against subprime lenders, especially those that have foreclosed on the homes of Hurricane Katrina victims. But Edwards himself has about $16 million invested in Fortress Investment Group LLC, whose subprime lending units have foreclosed on Katrina victims, a Wall Street Journal investigation disclosed. During a visit to Katrina-ravaged New Orleans in April, Edwards proposed to rein in subprime mortgage companies, saying their "shameful lending practices” threaten millions of homeowners. In July he also visited a neighborhood in Cleveland with a high foreclosure rate, saying: "This is wrong ... These people have been taken advantage of.”
Story Continues Below But the Journal found that 34 New Orleans homeowners have faced foreclosure suits from the Fortress units. Those units have also foreclosed on four homes in the Cleveland neighborhood. Edwards worked for Fortress, a private-equity fund, from late 2005 through 2006, and in 2006 Fortress paid him $479,512 for part-time work, according to a Federal Election Commission report. Also, Fortress employees comprise the largest class of political contributors to Edwards, having donated more than $150,000 to his presidential campaign in the first six months of this year. When confronted about the apparent hypocrisy of his anti-subprime efforts, Edwards told the Journal on Thursday that he would personally provide financial assistance to New Orleans residents who have lost their homes to Fortress, and he vowed to divest his portfolio of any investments that may profit from their losses. He did not provide details, although he said the money might come from his own holdings or in collaboration with a charity. This is not the first time a charge of hypocrisy has been leveled against the former North Carolina senator. As NewsMax reported, on Aug. 2 Edwards criticized Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for taking more than $20,000 in donations from officials at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., arguing that the company’s Fox News Channel has a right-wing bias and Democrats should avoid the company. But Edwards himself pocketed a $500,000 advance from publisher HarperCollins for his book "Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives.” HarperCollins is a News Corp. subsidiary. After Edwards criticized Clinton, News Corp. asked if he would return the advance. Edwards said he would not. He has also said he donated the money to charity, but Bill O’Reilly’s show on Fox claimed that when asked, he did not provide proof of the donations. © NewsMax 2007. All rights reserved. Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics: Inside Cover Stories
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