Jim Johnson, a key figure in the Barack Obama campaign’s VP search committee, stepped down today according to Politico and several other sources.

Johnson put out a statement earlier today:

“I believe Barack Obama’s candidacy for President of the United States is the most exciting and important of my lifetime,” he said, according to a Bloomberg report. “I would not dream of being a party to distracting attention from that historic effort.”

Johnson has been under fire for the last few days after it was revealed that he had some ties to the now troubled home mortgage lender Countrywide.

MSNBC has also posted a statement from Obama:

“Jim did not want to distract in any way from the very important task of gathering information about my vice presidential nominee, so he has made a decision to step aside that I accept,” Obama said in a statement. “We have a very good selection process underway, 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 this process.”

I will post more on this story as, or if, anything develops.