Gilmore campaign claims AP article on tie to Bear Stearns contains "factual errors"

By: WSLS News Staff | WSLS
Published: March 19, 2008

The Jim Gilmore campaign for U.S. Senate put out the below news release, that attacks the above Associated Press article by AP reporter Bob Lewis:

Dear Bob:

We would appreciate it if you would immediately correct the following factual errors and incorrect implications in your story about former Gov. Jim Gilmore and Everquest Financial which moved on the Associated Press wires last night and has been reprinted by several Virginia media outlets.

1. Everquest Financial is not, and has never been, “subsidiary” of Bear Sterns. It is an independent company.

2. Everquest has not and does not “market” high risk securities. It does not market securities; it buys and holds them in its portfolio.

3. The primary holdings of Everquest Financial are assets based on sound corporate loans.

4. Everquest is an asset management corporation. It is not a “hedge fund” and it does not operate a hedge fund.

5. As a result of sound management, Everquest is thriving and has earned $100 million in revenue for its shareholders.

6. When Jim Gilmore was Governor of Virginia, in the wake of 9/11 and a during a national recession, Jim Gilmore balanced the Virginia budget, gave working families $1.5 billion in tax cuts and left a record $1 billion in the state's Rainy Day Fund.

7. The deficit in the state budget, as defined by Mark Warner, was the difference between state revenues, which had decreased in the recession; and what Mark Warner wanted to spend in future years.

8. This shortfall in his spending plans is what Mark Warner used to justify raising taxes on working Virginians by $1.4 billion in 2003 – a year and a half after Jim Gilmore left office.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Dick Leggitt
Campaign Manager
Jim Gilmore for Senate