Mitt Romney's bane of existence at the moment is his role with former company Bain Capital. One side says he should be investigated and disqualified from the presidential race. Another says all this brouhaha is nothing but political maneuvering.
According to the Huffington Post, Romney has some serious explaining to do, because what he is saying and what he has officially recorded seem to be two completely different things. Meanwhile, over at the Washington Post blog, Gregg Kessler doesn't see any discrepancies in the GOP candidate's SEC paperwork. So, who's right? Should Romney be investigated for fraud?
Well, the only way to determine this is to look at the facts.
According to the Romney camp, the former Bain CEO left the company in early 1999. What happened beyond that date?
- In November of that year, months after Romney supposedly left Bain, he signed off on documents authorizing the acquisition of Stericycle, a company that profits off the disposal of aborted fetuses. This essentially made him a profiteer from abortion services. Conservatives can spin it all they want, but that is one fact they can't explain away. Sorry, pro-lifers.
- In January 2000, he signed a deal with VMM Merger Corp.
- In February 2000, Romney signed SEC paperwork to acquire Wesley Jensen Visioncare, Inc.
- A year later, in 2001, he signed paperwork for ChipPAC, Inc.
Now, Kessler would have you believe that this was all "boilerplate," and that Romney was nothing more than a mere figurehead at Bain. However, that argument simply doesn't wash. The presumed GOP frontrunner was listed as the "sole stockholder, chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and president" of the company, which would indicate he knew Bain's every move at the time he signed off on each one.
Those who are familiar with situations such as this are calling foul because Mitt Romney simply can't say one thing and claim another. In essence, he is trying to convince the reader that an SEC filing means nothing, that it's all just a formality that doesn't really have any legal standing. Of course, this couldn't be further from the truth because the SEC is a federal entity and lying on paperwork could land a less well-connected and wealthy person in jail.
In an effort to safe face, the Romney campaign is looking for ways to spin this in such a way as to make President Obama look like the bad guy. It's kind of hard to do when you've got a reputation as a two-faced liar.
To answer the question, "should Romney be investigated for fraud?", the answer is a resounding "yes!"
©2012 Reno Berkeley for Gather News.
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Comments: 152
What I find really fascinating is that the only reason this is an issue (ie, whether or not Romney worked at Bain after 1999), is just to prove the negative ad campaign by Obama has merit.
Even the Boston Globe, the story heavily used by the Obama campaign as "proof" of Romney's continued connection with Bain after 1999, had to come back with their tails between their legs, "Pieces of this story were reported by other news organizations. We believe the Globe advanced the story with a more comprehensive and complete look that broke significant news and included additional documents. However, our policy is to give credit to other news organizations for their work. In the editing and shortening process, I have learned, passages giving credit were removed. That was a mistake, and we are now adding appropriate credit back to the online version."
The really ironic thing is that Obama is criticizing Romney for overseeing companies that went bankrupt and overseeing companies that outsourced. Obama's record in both of these areas is MUCH worse than anything Bain ever did, whether Romney worked there at the time or not, which has already been disproved.
Romney, when he was in charge of Bain, invested heavily in a Chinese manufacturing company that depended on US outsourcing for its profits—and that explicitly stated that such outsourcing was crucial to its success.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/bain-capital-mitt-romney-outsourcing-china-global-tech
While Romney was boss of Bain it helped the fortunes of a Chinese manufacturer by outsourcing American manufacturing jobs from Sunbeam, Hamilton Beach, Mr. Coffee, Proctor-Silex, Revlon, and Vidal Sassoon. And it helped itself again by having so much stock in that Chinese manufacturer (betting against America?) . Entire American communities collapsed after the factories left, being closed up *only* for bigger Bain profits. Instead of asking Obama to say he's sorry for talking about this, Romney should explain to voters why this is a good model for American economics since his current deregulation & low tax policy will just encourage America to become more of a 3rd world country to compete with all the other 3rd world countries, on their terms. Being a 3rd world country is very very easy, just let religion and the rich run it all and that's what you've got.
Yes, investigate the lousy man who made millions ripping off America!
If your concern is companies going bankrupt, perhaps you should consider that Obama's public equity scheme, called "green" stimulus, was directly responsible for many companies going under and/or having thousands of layoffs.
If your concern is outsourcing, perhaps you should consider the reports that stated that 8 out of every 10 dollars went overseas with the failed green stimulus program. OR, you should consider the Obama job Czar, that was described as "non-apologetic" about the fact that 1/2 of GE's workforce was overseas.
1.) If there was an article on Fox, written by someone who has (more than once) publicly displayed their admiration for Mitt Romney, would you be hesitant to accept his or her viewpoint if it is against Obama? Particularly when the "evidence" has been scrutinized already and dismissed by various news organizations and nonpartisan fact-checking sites?
2.) Would you dismiss sources for my facts about Obama above? I have plenty, if you care to see them. Or, you can do a Google search.
2). I don't accept any facts without scrutinizing them and judge each source by how well they stand up to such scrutiny.
http://edgar.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1027584/0000950131-00-001153.txt
On Valentine's Day, 2001, he is listed as president and CEO of Bain in paperwork on a deal for Integrated Systems, Inc.
http://edgar.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1065042/000089843001000644/0000898430-01-000644.txt
What part of "He's a liar," do you people not understand?
sarcasm, in case you wondered. I'm not really describing the way it went down, did ya notice?
Annnd...Perhaps Congress and every Politician on Capitol Hill should release the Names and Identities of ALL of the Hookers and Prostitutes they use on a daily basis...and who foots the Bill for their Fun...and, perhaps all of their Wives should be informed...perhaps all Members of Congress should reveal how much in the Trillions they have all made on their capitalisation of Insider Trading...perhaps starting with Pelousy...
What reason is there for the President to release his college transcripts except idle curiosity ?
What is so difficult to understand about a moratorium on drilling after the biggest environmental disaster in American, perhaps world, history ?
Why should the President and the attorney general release sensitive documents from an ongoing federal investigation? They should release the documents to the committees that are requesting them, Ali, not to me.
Nevertheless, to throw the accusation of `felony' around could come back to haunt the Obama campaign. Such a claim could be regarded as careless and irresponsible.
But not because it might not be true.
But rather because the Democrats, unfortunately, do not have the communication savvy to back up the claim effectively without looking like they are, "piling it on".
Unless the underwriters of media strategy, for the Democrats, are prepared to decimate Romney, like T. Boone Pickens's money did to Kerry--via the Swift Boat campaign--you can see this attack backfiring on the President, perhaps significantly.
These attacks show the Democrats traipsing into political territory that they are not as adept at, as the Republicans.
Kerry lost because he responded to the "Right Wing Attack Machine" with a defense that was too little and too late.
Romney is NOT adopting a "bunker mentality"--as Kerry did, for so long. Indeed, Romney is responding hard and right away.
If Romney doesn't release his past tax records, however, then the Democrats' rhetorical expertise may have a lower standard to meet.
In any case, why couldn't Romney's tax returns possibly exonerate him or incriminate him?
If that's the case, then, "By his silence, we will know him".
The only attacks that are true, in the minds of Right Wingers, are obviously Right Wing attacks.
Therefore, of course, the Bain attacks aren't true, but the Swift attacks were true.
It's that simple and that cut and dry for Renee.
Did Bush EVER come out and condemn the Swift Boat campaign?
OF COURSE NOT.
HE LET THE RIGHT WING MEDIA BANKROLLERS DO HIS DIRTY WORK FOR HIM.
OBAMA, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAS THE GUTS TO GO AFTER ROMNEY DIRECTLY.
They tried the differently abled Michelle Bachman before she imploded. They tried the hallucinating Herman Cain. They tried the serial adulterer Newt Gingrich. They flirted with Donald Trump whose rumored candidacy was the only thing more ridiculous than his comb-over. They tried Perry, who shot himself in the foot by not being able to remember his own policies. They tried Rick Santori to establish an American theocracy.
Finally they gave up scraping the bottom of the barrel and settled for Romney. Now we are all seeing why he was such a hot potato.
@Renee: I don't have a party. Even in Canada I am not a member of any party. The one I usually support (the NDP) is represented by people like Thomas Mulcair, Olivia Chow, Andrea Horvath, etc. The names are meaningless to you, but they are all folks I am very comfortable supporting.
You will have to find more than Pelosi, Reid or Biden to make the Democrats look worse than the clown college on the right.
Rory, this is an example of a comment whereas you need to take a deep breath and count to ten before clicking on submit. That statement cannot be justified, and it was simply unnecessary. This is the kind of comment that will prevent anyone from taking your words as being serious on any issue.
I calls 'em like I sees 'em.
@Eric: I'd rather be a race-mongrel than a racist any day.
And yet Fact check says that it's still not evidence of Romney being in control. Twice!
Unless you think Fact Check is biased in Romney's favor Reno?
THAT's the issue.
I doubt that the SEC has anything but zero tolerance for misrepresentation--even if it's a technicality.
http://factcheck.org/2012/07/factcheck-to-obama-camp-your-complaint-is-all-wet/
Where’s the Evidence?
So what does the Obama campaign have in rebuttal? Very little, and none of it convincing in our judgment.
Much of the Obama campaign’s letter is devoted to quoting portions of documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In summary, the letter states there are “at least 63 filings with that agency after March 1, 1999 that list various Bain entities and describe them as ‘wholly owned by W. Mitt Romney.’†That’s true, but not relevant.
We have never disputed that Romney remained the owner of Bain while he was running the Olympics committee. The issue always has been, who was running Bain? Nothing in the SEC documents contradicts what Romney has certified as true.
So again there is nothing wrong or false in was Romney has been saying. And besides that if the Obama administration is so sure that Romney has committed a felony then why the HELL haven't that had Holder file charges? My guess is because they know it's BS and are simply obfuscating and for purely political gains.
You're a moron Rory. That's your answer to every single criticism against Obama. Try not bring up who's white, black , purple or blue for your inane rebuttal for a change.
But I guess ultimately you want to label everyone who isn't you as a racist. And people wonder why there's no real conversation about race relations. That's why. You want to shut everyone up who doesn't think like you by labeling them a racist.
I have never said that Romney hasn't lied. But you sure want us to believe that the Obama campaign is pure and would never stoop to making false accusations.
The Obama campaign fails to make its case. On just about every level, this ad is misleading, unfair and untrue, from the use of “corporate raider” to its examples of alleged outsourcing. Simply repeating the same debunked claims won’t make them any more correct.
The Obama campaign apparently loves to ding former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney with the charge of “outsourcing.” On several occasions, we have faulted the campaign for its claims, apparently to little avail.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/4-pinocchios-for-obamas-newest-anti-romney-ad/2012/06/20/gJQAGux6qV_blog.html
A better source for Romney’s behavior as an investor might be someone who actually worked on Wall Street, such as former Obama auto czar Steven Rattner. “Bain Capital is not now, nor has it ever been, some kind of Gordon Gekko-like, fire-breathing corporate raider that slashed and burned companies, immolating jobs wherever they appear in its path,”
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=3FF6BE47-F3D0-478D-AEEE-CD992023310D
I guess pointing this out just makes me a racist.
Charles, if he was asked and didn't show what they wanted makes you look guilty. What is he hidding? If he is innocent, then show it to prove that what he says is not lies but the truth. Would you believe someone off the streets that says the sky isn't blue? There are to much lobbyists and this "Tea Party", OH don't get me started on that one. If people open their eyes and ears you would be surprise.
*yawn*
Great article, Reno :)
The left expected Romney to completely remove himself from Bain in nine days. I am dealing with just my insurance from my surgery and it'[s taken over a month so far and it's still not all done. But I guess nine days was plenty of time for Romney right?
I don't see many right wingers repeating that, though they want to put a lot of store in Kessler whn he criticizes Obama. He is either reliable or he's not.
Kessler also listed the following as one of his facts: "Most the SEC filings were signed by other Bain executives, but we found six that have Romney’s signature. Moreover, one filing with Romney’s signature concerned ChipPAC, now known as STATS ChipPac, one of the biggest outsourcing companies in the world."
I've never questioned his validity, But the left seems to be questioning it about the Obama campaign making weak and false claims about Romney.
Renee, either your naivete is compelling or you are in utter denial.
Did Bush EVER come out and condemn the Swift Boat campaign?
OF COURSE NOT.
HE LET THE RIGHT WING MEDIA BANKROLLERS DO HIS DIRTY WORK FOR HIM.
OBAMA, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAS THE GUTS TO GO AFTER ROMNEY, DIRECTLY.
It is difficult to believe that Romney was running the Salt Lake City Olympics and Bain Capital at the same time effortless running more than one successful enterprise in a challenging social environment at a time.
I did check out the web site for the waste removal and carbon footprint estimating firm Stericycle that Bain Capital took over. It is a diversified waste management company including medical waste and unfortunately certain medical facilities perform abortions. I believe it is misleading to imply that Stericycle profits from abortions or any particular medical procedure at any clinic or hospital more so than any other or from the phenomenality of the present primitive condition of human medical practices (where is McCoy?). One might equally accuse them of profiting from Heroin and cocaine sales because hospitals and clinics treat drug abusers and overdose persons.
http://www.stericycle.com/
For the reason that you stated, "with his high profile and campaign history," NO!
The concept of a political 'system' is in itself interesting. The constitution 'system' of the United States was designed to enable freedom in social and civic relations for individuals, and that system needed to evolve to explicitly recognize the corrupting effects of slavery and non-enfranchisement, yet it fundamentally achieved that.
The civic sector today in-itself may be implicitly corrupted by over-networking and /or economic totalization of opportunity within the control of elites such as the former communist party of the Soviet Union, or by aristocrats on the right advancing through various means such as oligarchy to plutocracy and monarchy, war and juntas with military dictators and so forth. Dissidents to the regime regard the system as corrupt implicitly while the powerful regard that as correct. The Obama administration has consistently added accelerant onto the civil conflict of Syria-helping to get it started in some respects, and the death total is now over 15,000. Evidently the end justifies the means to the President, with the end being the removal of the Alawite Regime and establishment of a Sunni sectarian government with a nominal democracy.
The abstract consideration of political 'systems' differs from any particular political circumstance in space and time as logic pro forma differs from a particular application of logic.
The basic civil liberty is freedom from the encroaching, exploiting power of others for-themselves. The Soviet system of state absolutism totally subjects individuals to the power of others-a vary repressive social phenomenalism. The Obamacare tracking of poor individual citizens is about as bad as the Yuk Point N.P.R. show today on data mining and tracking of people with smart phones for financial transactions. State authoritarian creates a dumbed down populace with human creativity and inventiveness stifled substantially. It is a bad direction to go in that is as silly as the relief of corporations from meaningful legal accountability via the legal fiction that they are individuals.
That argument is itself an example of what the disputants regard as corruption on the opposition side when it is simply a political situation within the constitutional context enabling it. Some regard social reality as transcendently more real than existential, natural concerns for environmental conservation. There is of course a substantial disingenuity in the left tactic of attacking corporate social reality as legal individuals in that they seek not a reform of capitalism to fit with the times that would maximize free enterprise and social welfare but instead want to move in the aforementioned direction of statism even of a global scale.
In the two party race, between Obama and Romney, i would pick Romney every time, not because he is perfect, but because he is easily superior in temperament, leadership, experience, etc.
I don't see that as very patriotic.