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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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Obama's Embattled Veep Hunter to Quit

Johnson was skewered over favorable mortgage he received

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(Newser) – A member of Barack Obama’s VP selection team who has drawn a firestorm of criticism this week is stepping down from his post, CNN reports. “Jim [Johnson] did not want to distract in any way from the very important task of gathering information about my vice presidential nominee, so he has made a decision to step aside that I accept,” Obama said in a statement.

The former Walter Mondale campaign manager has been in hot water since a Saturday story in the Wall Street Journal revealed below-market rate mortgages he received from the controversial Countrywide—because of a friendship with the lender’s CEO.

In this Tuesday, Sept. 18, 1990 file photo, James A. Johnson.
In this Tuesday, Sept. 18, 1990 file photo, James A. Johnson.   (AP Photo/Doug Mills)
Jim Johnson arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington Monday, June 9, 2008, for a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Jim Johnson arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington Monday, June 9, 2008, for a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Jim Johnson.
Jim Johnson.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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