Home Ralph Northam Ed’s been lining his pockets at the expense of hardworking Virginians for...

Ed’s been lining his pockets at the expense of hardworking Virginians for years.

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His work for Bank of America is just one example.

As a pediatric neurologist, veteran Army doctor, and lieutenant governor, Ralph Northam has spent his whole career serving Virginia. But Ed Gillespie? He’s been lining his pockets at the expense of hardworking Virginians for years. Literally, years.

Ed’s tried to keep much of his private-sector past under wraps, but years of legally-mandated disclosures reveal Gillespie has made millions lobbying and consulting for shady companies. Before launching his gubernatorial campaign in 2016, Gillespie made millions from his lobbying and consulting businesses work for clients like Enron, Nelnet, and Bank of America. By combining the years 2006, 2013, and 2016 alone, he’s made up to $5.2 million from lobbying and consulting. And during this time, hundreds of Virginians were laid off from the very same companies Gillespie worked for. Virginians were left to grapple with the effects — the worst recession since the Great Depression.

It’s hard to sum up Ed’s history of making money at the expense of hardworking Virginians in a few words. So here’s the abbreviated version: Ed does business by taking cash from the same companies that put profits over people.

Just take his lobbying and consulting work for Bank of America, for example.

Before taking a position in the White House in 2007, Ed started his work as a high-paid lobbyist for Bank of America.

From 2005 to 2007, his lobbying firm Quinn, Gillespie & Associates (QGA) reported making $780,000 from Bank of America by lobbying Congress, the president, and government agencies on financial services issues according to a lobbying disclosure report. Later in 2007, during his time in the Bush White House, Ed played a lead role in gathering support for the 2008 bailout of big banks. The end result? Bank of America benefitted the most from that deal, making it the second biggest recipient of taxpayer bailout money.

After leaving the White House in 2009, Ed restarted his paid consulting work for Bank of America, which lasted up until his run for governor.

A 2013 report notes that Ed was consulting for Bank of America on efforts to, once again, break up big banks, and he’s reported to have made $3 million from his consulting firm that backed Bank of America among other clients.

Ed’s lucrative work for Bank of America coincided with its lead role in a foreclosure crisis that devastated Virginia communities.

The foreclosure crisis of 2009 ravaged Virginia communities as tens of thousands of Virginians lost their homes and unemployment levels rose. Not coincidentally, Ed’s consulting work for Bank of America continued to line his pockets while thousands of Virginians lost their homes.

While Ed worked for Bank of America, the company settled lawsuits over deceptive loan practices and illegally foreclosing on military servicemembers.

In 2010, Bank of America, which acquired Countrywide Financial (a mortgage lender) in 2008 paid $600 million to settle lawsuits claiming that it concealed risk as it loosened standards to receive home loans. Later in 2013, a jury found Bank of America liable for selling defective mortgages in the lead up to the housing crisis. What’s more, from 2006 to 2009, the bank was illegally foreclosing houses of servicemembers and was later ordered to pay $20 million to the folks it hurt.

Ed’s been bringing home a check from Bank of America for more than a decade, while the bank has laid off hundreds of Virginians.

As one of the largest employers in the Richmond area and the headquarters of Bank of America’s Virginia operations, the effect of Bank of America’s Virginia layoffs were felt by many. Between 2007 and 2015, Bank of America laid off hundreds of employees across Virginia, in Richmond, Fairfax, and Hampton Roads.

Make no mistake — Ed’s in it for himself. His relationship with Bank of America is only one example of literally hundreds of conflicts that have put him at odds with the well-being of Virginia. As long he’s getting paid, he couldn’t care less about the hardworking people of our commonwealth. His slogan, “For all Virginians” couldn’t be further from the truth.

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