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Dean Heller Changes His Tune On Housing
Senator Dean Heller has just changed his tune regarding federal assistance to help underwater homeowners and mitigate the foreclosure crisis in Nevada. He has an extensive record of voting against federal foreclosure programs, yet has now suddenly decided such federal assistance is necessary. “Senator Heller appears to have come down with a case of the Romney flip-flops. Surely he doesn’t think Nevadans will suddenly consider him a champion of foreclosure assistance despite his long record of voting against efforts to help,” said Matt Thornton, spokesman for American Bridge 21st Century.
BuzzFeed: Romney Camp Keeps Bad News Out Of The Emails
On January 26, 2012, BuzzFeed reported:
For example, last Monday, during a press call with Tim Pawlenty, a Miami Herald reporter asked the campaign surrogate about Romney's investments in Freddie Mac. "The Democratic group American Bridge has pointed out that Mitt Romney invested in these federal government loan ventures as well, and therefore his hands aren't clean," reporter Marc Caputo said. "Can you respond to that?" Pawlenty punted on the question--saying that he'd "have to ask the campaign to follow up with you." But when the Romney press shop e-mailed out a transcript of the call later that day, the exchange was nowhere to be found.
National Journal: FACT CHECK: Some Romney Housing Investments Were Not In Blind Trust
On January 26, 2012, National Journal reported:
Yet, according to Romney's financial disclosure forms, not all of his mutual funds were part of a blind trust. The Boston Globe reported in September that Romney owned between $250,001 and $500,000 in a mutual fund called the Government Obligation Fund that invests in debt notes of various government entities, including mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and he made between $15,001 and $50,000 in interest from those investments. Since those assets were considered a charitable trust rather than a blind trust, Romney could have reviewed them himself.
Miami Herald: Mitt Romney's Freddie Mac-Attack On Newt Gingrich Has Some Blowback
On January 25, 2012, the Miami Herald reported:
As he tries to tie Newt Gingrich to the housing crisis in Florida, Mitt Romney’s criticisms of Freddie Mac are drawing attention to his own campaign and background, which are full of ties to the mortgage giant. [...] Also, AP and the Democratic group American Bridge 21st Century has pointed out that one of Romney’s investments yielded $500,000 from the federally backed lender, Fannie Mae.
On Fox News, Mitt Romney Lies About His Investments In Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
On the January 25 edition of Fox & Friends on Fox News, Mitt Romney was asked about his personal investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He responded by falsely claiming the investment was part of a mutual fund chosen by a trustee and part of his blind trust.
BRIAN KILMEADE (HOST): Yesterday Newt Gingrich joined us and said, "I just found out that Mitt Romney was in investor in Fannie & Freddie." What's the truth? MITT ROMNEY: [Laughs] That's pretty funny. My investments, of course, are managed not by me. For the last ten years they've been guided and managed by a trustee, they're in a blind trust. And the trustee invested in mutual funds and so forth and apparently one of the funds had Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac bonds.That's not true. As the Boston Globe originally reported in September: "And unlike most of Romney’s financial holdings, which are held in a blind trust that is overseen by a trustee and not known to Romney, this particular investment was among those that would have been known to Romney." Full research after the jump.
AP: Romney Paid $3M In Federal Income Tax In 2010
On January 23, 2012, the Associated Press reported:
One investment, listed as a "Federated Government Obligation Fund" and worth between $250,000 and $500,000, was a mutual fund that included both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac assets among a larger pool that included other government securities. The holding was not listed in Romney's blind trust, which led some Democratic Party activists to suggest that the investment was under his direct control. "He is relentlessly attacking Newt Gingrich over his ties to Freddie Mac despite the fact that he personally invested up to a half a million dollars in both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," said Ty Matsdorf, a senior adviser with American Bridge 21st Century, a PAC associated with Democratic Party and liberal causes.
Media Coverage Of NewtGingrich.com
American Bridge 21st Century just released this video compilation of media reports covering our ownership of NewtGingrich.com. To read about what we did with the site, click here.