Reply #6: Edwards on the subject

[Emit]

John Edwards went to work for the hedge fund manager Fortress Investment Group as a consultant to advise on global economic issues related to Fortress' investment activities in October 2005. He also invested $16 million of his own fortune in Fortress accounts at the time he was working for the Group. Fortress Investment Groups owns a stake in Green Tree Servicing, among other lending agencies, that has been a big player in sub-prime lending. Green Tree Servicing LLC rose to prominence in the 1990s selling subprime loans to mobile-home owners and now services subprime loans originated by others. The Wall Street Journal reported that Green Tree and other agencies connected to Fortress foreclosed on some 34 homes in New Orleans, following Hurricane Katrina. (Ironically, New Orleans is the same city in which Edwards chose to announce his candidacy on December 28th, 2006). Edwards responded to these foreclosures by offering to help those who lost their homes. He also tried to explain away the negative effects of the practices of his former employer's subsidiaries, saying that at its best, sub-prime lending helps people afford homes they otherwise might be able to.
("Edwards, Foreclosure Critic, Has Investing Tie to Subprime Lenders." By Christopher Cooper. Wall Street Journal. 17 August 2007.)

http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/12/6/203359/025
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118728685546999884.html

Edwards told the Journal “that when he first joined Fortress, ‘I made clear that I didn't want to have anything I was investing in to be antilabor or involved in predatory lending practices.’ But he added that he didn't fully understand the firm's complex operations, saying: ‘They're diverse. They're very diverse.’”

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/08/17/321613.aspx

~snip~

"It was primarily to learn, but making money was a good thing, too," the 2004 vice presidential nominee said in an interview with The Associated Press.

He said the amount he was paid will be revealed when he releases his financial disclosure forms.

Fortress Investment Group, founded in 1998, describes itself as "a leading global alternative asset manager" with approximately $35.1 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2006. The company is headquartered in New York with affiliates around the world.

Edwards said it's legitimate to ask questions about whether there is a contradiction between campaigning against poverty while working for a hedge fund that is designed to make rich people richer. He said the job was a compliment to his position as the head of a poverty center at the University of North Carolina.

"I didn't feel like I understand, and to be honest with you still learning right now, sort of the relationship between that world and the way money moves in this country through financial markets," Edwards said.

Edwards said he also spoke to some Wall Street investment firms such as Goldman Sachs besides exploring the position with Fortress. He said his role was to advise the firm about what he saw happening economically in the United States and during his travels overseas.

~snip~

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8P0AUHO0&show_article=1