Kerry defends Jim Johnson
Posted: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 2:17 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC’s Domenico Montanaro and NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones
Sen. John Kerry defended Obama veep vetter Jim Johnson, calling him
“I will say this about Jim Johnson -- Jim Johnson is a very experienced, very discreet, very capable individual who is performing a voluntary function without pay, without any interest,” Kerry said. “He’s not seeking a job and he is acting completely independently to gather information about somebody, and that’s it.
“That is the full measure of this, and it seems this is one of those sort of, you know, Washington grab stories where people try to make something out of something that’s not.
“He hasn’t been proposed for a confirmable position. He’s not in a position to do anything except provide information to somebody who wants information and he’s proven himself somebody who has a great skill gathering that information and keeping it personal and private. You will recall there were zero leaks from my process.”
Kerry added that those who were on his short list had no complaints, since Johnson kept “very sensitive” information private, nothing was ever made public.
“He did an outstanding job in that capacity,” Kerry said.
Johnson has come under fire for having received favorable terms on loans from beleaguered mortgage lender Countrywide Financial after his departure as CEO of Fannie Mae.
