Johnson Steps Down as Obama VP Vetter

Jim Johnson, one of Sen. Barack Obama’s vice presidential vetters has stepped down after a tumultuous few days as controversy swirled over his association, and personal loans deal with  Countrywide Financial Group, a mortgage lender that has received criticism for being at the center of the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Senator Obama released a statement on Johnson’s departure:

” Jim did not want to distract in any way from the very important task of gathering information about my vice my presidential nominee. So he has made a decision to step aside that I accept. We have a very good selection process under way, and I am confident that it will produce  a number of highly qualified candidates for me to choose from in the weeks ahead. I remain grateful to Jim for his service and his efforts in the process.”

The story of Johnson’s $ 1.7 million total loans was first broken by the Wall Street Journal, and had created a maelstrom of Republican criticism for his connection to the financial group, because Obama had been very critical of subprime lenders, and specifically Countrywide Financial.