The Plot Thickens: Kerry's Campaign Mortgage Questioned

[John Ashcroft]

WRKO Boston talk radio host Howie Carr is questioning whether Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry was given special treatment when he obtained a $6.4 million mortgage last December on the Beacon Hill townhouse he owns jointly with his wife to rescue his then-financially strapped campaign.

"I don't think that the bank should have given Kerry that big of a mortgage under the usual regulations," Carr told WABC Radio's Steve Malzberg on Sunday.

"When you figure up the payments and the interest rate on the note, it's going to cost him $350,000 a year to pay off the note," the Boston talker explained, noting that Kerry's annual salary as a senator was less that half that amount.

So how's he going to legally pay this note off? Bueller... Bueller... Bueller...

"How can any bank vice president sign off on that," said Carr, "unless they do it with a wink and a nod and say, 'Well, the one who's really going to take care of it is Teresa" - Kerry's ketchup-heiress wife, who is reportedly worth $550 million.

Man, I've gotta get me a sugar momma like that! Pinky, didn't you say you make good money?

Federal Election Commission regulations make it illegal for Mrs. Heinz Kerry to contribute more than $2,000 to her husband's presidential campaign.

Carr said also that Kerry's share of the Beacon Hill townhouse was likely inflated in order to boost the amount of cash he could borrow.

"City Hall records show that the mansion is actually only assessed at $6 million," he told Malzberg. "And yet the bank gave Kerry a mortgage of $6 million [the full amount], even though he only owns a half share under communal property rights."

I forget, was Kerry a signatory to McCain/Feingold? I guess the new rules only apply to political adversaries...
Link: here (http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/2/23/172751.shtml)

[FORD]

Why didn't the media pick up on this a few months ago when it could have taken this phony assed fuckwad out of the race?

Still believe the BCE really wanted to run against Dean?

[John Ashcroft]

It's actually an old story. I started another thread a while back that had this info in it. But finally someone else is taking notice, and hopefully some hard questions will be asked of the good Senator not involving Vietnam...

[FORD]

I know it's an old story. That's my point. The media whores could have focused on this, which is at least a serious breach of ethics if not an actual crime, but they wouldn't touch it. Yet they'll take a fucking 2 second scream out of context and repeat it 666 times.

Yeah, Botox Boy, the "electable" candidate :rolleyes:

[John Ashcroft]

It's enough to make you scream Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahh!

[steve]

1. Currently, in every single housing market in America, the bank market value is slightly higher than the county/city assessed value of a home - any homeowner knows this. Thus; 6.4 million verses 6.0 million makes sense.

2. ..."TOWNHOUSE HE OWNS JOINTLY WITH HIS WIFE". Thus, Teresa Heinz's income also goes towards mortgage payments - which is totally legal considering THEY ARE MARRIED. Real Estate that is jointly owned is also jointly mortgaged - which in this case it was if this radio talk shwo host were to do his research.

It is legally impossible to simply just mortage "your half" of a home as it cannot be cut in half...unless you are subdividing the property (which was not happening in this case).

The reason this story has not been brought up in the media is because anyone that knows jack about real estate knows there was nothing legally wrong with what was done.

[John Ashcroft]

You're missing the point. His wife by law can only donate $2000 to her husband's election campaign. So take $350,000 (the annual amount of P&I on a 30 year note for $6 million), minus $2000 (His wife's legal contribution), and you end up with $348,000... Still almost double his Senator's salary. So how's he gonna afford this loan on his salary??? How's he gonna legally pay this off??? Enquiring minds want to know.

[steve]

I understand the point and did understand it.

My point is that jointly owned property and mortgages of said property, as I have read in relation to this issue, are not considered "hers" - they are legally both of theirs. Real estate, as such, is not split evenly between joint owners except in the instance of divorce.

If you want to argue that they used a loophole around the law to "effectivly" have her donate money to his campaign, that is accurate. I wouldn't agree with you that it is wrong - because I don't think it is, but I would agree with you that she "effectively" donated money to his campaign.

What I was arguing was that no laws were broken. And clearly, none were.

[John Ashcroft]

I believe they were, and continue to be (year after year as she pays of his mortgage). But time will tell if law is going to continue to mean anything in our country. It appears not in San Fransisco.

[knuckleboner]

whether or not election campaign donation laws were broken is a gray area.

clearly, john kerry has some assets of his own, be it a pension fund or a 401K, or a stock portfolio. additionally, i'm guessing some of teresa's wealth has accumulated after they were married. generally, this (the accumulation) becomes marital property, and not just hers. if john takes a $6 million home loan, and has a $100,000 salary, but $10 million in other assets for collateral, it might not necessarly require his wife to pay off the loan, and thereby contravene election law.


personally, i think steve hit the nail on the head. this is an election campaign law loophole. my guess is that technically, letter-of-the-law style, kerry is in the clear. it does not necessarily mean he's not going around the intent of the law.

but that's a reason to change the law.

[John Ashcroft]

Yeah, I'll bet he's right as well. Kerry's most certainly got advisors that know campaign law. But again, politically, Kerry was along with the bunch that convinced America that money corrupts all politicians, and therefore we as Americans needed to sacrifice a bit of our 1st Ammendment by supporting McCain/Feingold. Now he's spending his energy finding ways around it. Don't you find this at least disingenuous?

[knuckleboner]

sure. i don't think it's as big a deal as this howie carr is making it out.

but if i were bush (and not taking advantage of other, similar-type loopholes) i'd definitely point it out during the campagin.

and if i were the knuckleboner, i'd feel bush had a valid point.

[John Ashcroft]

And if I were the AG, I'd throw all their asses in jail...

[lucky wilbury]

kerry is loaded from his own family's money. his family dates back to the founding of mass.

[John Ashcroft]

Yeah, a real "Populist", huh?

[lucky wilbury]

his family is so connected it's not funny. i wonder if the many pics of him with jfk will turn up. nothing says your a man of the people when your hanging with and dating kennedys on their giagantic boats.

[steve]

Actually, while Kerry's father was a US diplomat and he was not poor, he was not "born into money" at all. In fact, his grandfather ended up broke and commited suicide because he was not able to pay his bills and such. You can look it up if you don't beleive me.

However, after he married Heinz is a different story.
But prior to that he was pretty much consistently in debt all of his adult political life.

[FORD]

Well, his middle name is "Forbes" and they certainly are no paupers.

[lucky wilbury]

just think ford bush and kerry are also related! but thats for another time and another thread.

http://news.bostonherald.com/election2004/election.bg?articleid=1121

Mortgage repayment likely to sap Kerry campaign chest
By Ellen J. Silberman and Jack Meyers
Thursday, February 26, 2004

The $6.4 million mortgage U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry [related, bio] used to revitalize his presidential campaign will put him in a financial bind this summer - just as Democrats are preparing to face-off against the well-funded Bush campaign.

Kerry - under campaign finance reform laws he supported - can only use campaign contributions to pay off the hefty note until the Democratic National Convention opens at the FleetCenter on July 26.

After that, the bulk of the payments must come out of Kerry's pocket since the 2001 McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law limits post-election payments on personal loans to $250,000.

The new rules mean Kerry will either have to siphon money from his war chest at the height of the presidential campaign - perhaps troubling donors who want their cash to go to defeating President Bush [related, bio] - or foot the bill himself. Kerry's $150,000 senatorial salary won't cover the annual loan payments.

The Herald reported yesterday that Kerry used an appraisal pegging the value of his Beacon Hill townhouse at twice the amount listed on City Hall records in order to get the $6.4 million loan.

Kerry owns the house with his millionaire wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, but under federal law can only tap his half of the value to fund his presidential campaign. The Kerry campaign says the senator has not yet decided how he will pay off Mellon Bank of New England, which granted the December mortgage.

``He'll make the decision each month,'' said campaign spokesman Michael Meehan. In January, Kerry used campaign funds to make his first $15,000 loan payments.

But Larry Noble, director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group, said, ``It doesn't look like he has the money (to pay off the loan) out of his own pocket. If she ends up paying it, then he has a problem - she's made an illegal campaign contribution.''

Mellon Bank performed two different roles in the transaction, one as the lender and the other as a trustee of the real estate trust that holds title to the Kerrys' Louisburg Square property.

As the lender, the bank has a duty to ensure the $6.4 million loan is likely to be repaid. As long as the collateral is worth at least $6.4 million, the mortgage is secure.

cw-3However, as a trustee, the bank follows the direction of the beneficiaries - in this case, the Kerrys. In December, John Kerry [related, bio] wanted as much money as possible to jumpstart his presidential effort. The higher the appraisal, the more Kerry could borrow.

Mellon Bank spokesman Ron Gruendl said both laws and company policy forbid releasing a customer's banking information to anyone but the customer, but the bank's role on both sides of the Kerrys' mortgage was a common practice for high net worth individuals.

``Mellon being both a trustee on the property and a mortgage holder, that's not unusual. It's permissible, it's appropriate, there's no conflict at all,'' said Gruendl.