Thursday, KSHB Channel 41 Action News reported on the Bank of America lawsuit against Congressman Emanuel Cleaver for defaulting on a loan for a car wash he owns.
The lawsuit against the Democratic congressman seeks $1.5 million in principal, interest and late fees.
The loan was used to buy the business in 2002.
“Keep in mind, this was done before I went to Congress. I was a private citizen,” said Cleaver.
Oh, please - he then refused to pay back the loan while he was a Congressman.
Cleaver wouldn’t get into specifics of the lawsuit.
“I’m not trying tot hide the fact that I’m not going to litigate this in front of a TV camera,” he said.
Well, credit where it’s due – you have to admire a guy who is so open and honest about his lack of transparency.
It’s not clear as of yet who will be on the hook for the default – the bank or the taxpayers, but as KSHB noted, the congressman’s principal political opponent is already using the issue against him in this year’s campaign.
“Unless he will sprint to the bank and give them a check, we’re going to be on the hook for this. And I would ask him to go ahead and do that and clear this matter up and then it doesn’t have to go through the courts,” said Jacob Turk, a Republican who is running for Cleaver’s office for the fourth time.
He also wants an ethics investigation. Turk said Cleaver should have listed the loan on his financial disclosure form.
The suit filed by Bank of America on March 30 indicates that Cleaver has had trouble making payments throughout the life of the loan.
The Hill reported:
According to the bank’s filing, Cleaver’s loan was for $1.35 million, and he now owes $1.2 million in unpaid principal after 10 years.
But if $240,000 in unpaid interest and nearly $60,000 in late fees and other charges is added, Cleaver now owes more than $1.5 million, more than the original loan value.“The Cleaver Company has defaulted on the Note by failing to make payments as required by the terms of the Note and by failing to make payments,” Bank of America wrote in its filing.Cleaver released a story last week in which he said, “This is a business dispute. The business has been run by an outside manager for years. Because this is a legal matter I am limited in what I can say and I hope you respect that.”
April, 14, 2012 at 4:22 pm
[...] I reported, here and here, the Bank of America’s lawsuit against the Democratic congressman seeks $1.5 million [...]
April, 15, 2012 at 2:26 am
[...] I reported, here and here, the Bank of America’s lawsuit against the Democratic congressman seeks $1.5 million [...]
July, 14, 2012 at 12:53 am
[...] I reported, here and here, the Bank of America’s lawsuit against the Democratic congressman seeks $1.5 million in [...]
July, 17, 2012 at 2:29 am
[...] Turk on Rep. Cleaver’s $1.35 Mil Bank Default – “Where Did Our Money Go?” As I reported, here and here, the Bank of America’s lawsuit against the Democratic congressman seeks $1.5 million in [...]