Dear Republican: Willard's 'felony' problem in a nutshell

[Ruby the Liberal]

Last edited Sun Jul 15, 2012, 10:37 PM - Edit history (5)

Edit - Originally posted to ask for editing help in responding to an (R) family member who wanted to know why the Bain employment dates were causing such a ruckus, and why people were saying Romney might have committed a felony. Thank you to everyone who gave input! This is what I sent. Fingers crossed that it makes a dent.

[font color=navy]Governor Romney's claims about his tenure at Bain for 1999-2002 differ depending on who is asking (and why). These claims are not just fudging dates - they are mutually exclusive and potentially federal felonies. Martha Stewart was put in jail, not for insider trading, but for lying about it - so that is why you heard the uproar about "potential felony" thrown out there.

Position #1 is that he left Bain in February 1999.

• This would gel with the contractual requirements of the Salt Lake City Olympics, because they had a requirement that he sever all ties to any entity doing business with a company who sponsors or financially supports the games by February 11, 1999, or he would be in breach of that contract.
  
  
• This is what he also told the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in 2011 when he filed his disclosures to run for President.

Position #2 is that he left Bain in 2002

• This is what he told the State of Massachusetts in sworn testimony to justify his residency in the state so that he could run for Governor, as he actually lived in Utah at the time.
  
  
• This is what is listed on all SEC filings from 1999-2002. He signed all regulatory filings as the CEO, President, Board Chairman and Sole Stockholder for Bain during this time.

Why this is a problem:

1. The FEC and SEC are federal entities, and filing false information with either is a felony. He filed mutually exclusive statements with these entities, and if one is true, the other is a lie as both cannot coexist.
   
   
2. Bain did a lot of lousy stuff during that 3 year window: becoming an industry leader in sending US jobs to Asia and India (outsourcing), taking out debt and bankrupting companies they bought, and wiping out the pensions of tens of thousands of people - who were then made whole/partially whole on the backs of US taxpayers in bailouts. In one noted case, Bain made $102 million in shuttering a company, where they could have made $80 million and left the pensions intact rather than letting the US taxpayers pick up the tab for that. Romney wants to distance himself from these activities after the fact.
   
   
3. Of special note to you, look up Stericycle. This company specializes in medical waste, and part of their role is the disposal of aborted fetuses. You can see in google that in <state>, Stericycle is only located in <city> and <city> - where Planned Parenthood offers abortion services. Romney and Bain invested millions (believed $8 million of a $75 million investment consortium) in Stericycle in November of 1999. Doubtful he wants that out there.

Now, his campaign is trying to sell the public on the fact that he drew an annual salary in excess of $100k from Bain from 1999-2002 (exact amount unknown, $100k+ is from his election disclosure filings to the FEC) - while not doing anything at Bain. No work, no phone calls, no board meetings, and no involvement in decisions. He was just paid to sign SEC papers on what the people who worked for him were doing - without any oversight or approval from him. That is enough to write a few headlines, and if they ever publish a list of where these 6 figure jobs are, I will hold you a spot in line.

I asked a few folks to fact check me and help me put this into a clear format, and I hope it untangles a bit as to why this is such a big deal. Happy to provide you with links to back up anything I have included in this if you want to dig in any further.[/font]

[RBInMaine]

1. The rotten SOB wanted it BOTH WAYS for personal gain. 1999 for the Olympics, and 2002 to be Gov. of

MA and all the while being the "legal CEO" so he could continue to reap profits and a big salary. The guy is an ultra-slimeball.

[Ruby the Liberal]

6. This person loathed Palin. Cringed at her name.

Still, voted for McCain in 2008 - was not happy about it, but did it. Painting him as "aggressive businessman" or "greedy" isn't going to cut it. I need to show a true character failure, not just an opinion.

[JoePhilly]

2. I'll make it simple ...

1) Romney signed formal legal documents saying that he was CEO and President of Bain during those years. He got paid more than 100k a year during those years.

2) Romney now says that he did NO WORK WHATSOEVER for Bain during those same years, during which they paid him over 100k a year.

3) Bottom line: Mitt believes that the rules are different for CEOs and the super rich. Apparently you can be CEO, get paid 100k, and then also claim that you do absolutely NO WORK for the company during that same period. Could any of us get a gig like that? Absolutely not. A 100k salary for doing NOTHING.

That is the America Romney knows .... one set of rules for HIM, a different sent of rules for everyone else.

[RBInMaine]

3. He got MUCH more than 100K which is why he won't release the tax returns for those years.

[Ruby the Liberal]

9. Yes, that was "$100k and up"

I hope this is enough to get her to ask me about the tax return issues/questions.

[karynnj]

5. Good - but should add that his name in the SEC filing is important

Investors have been known to check who is leading a company before investing. If he was uninvolved, it was wrong to deceive any investor who bought trusting that he was in charge.

[Ruby the Liberal]

7. What started this was the "felon" remark.

I am not going to have her attention on the moral/ethical/character challenges. She knows he is a louse.

The "no work" thing is awesome. I will work that in as it does stress the point though.

[Tx4obama]

17. And Romney was the sole owner of Bain, owned 100% of the stock, profited off of everything Bain did.

He profited off of factory closures and profited from outsourcing.

[Spazito]

4. It looks good to me, one suggestion though...

I would use "shipped American jobs to India, China, etc," instead of "outsource/ offshore. Those two words aren't always clear as to what they mean.

[Ruby the Liberal]

8. Good point!

Exactly why I wanted some more eyes on this. I know she won't know FEC by its initials, and figured I missed a few others that here would be assumptions, but may need to be made more clear.

[Spazito]

10. One other point you might want to make is related to the dates and the Olympics...

In order for Romney to sign on to the Olympics he had to sever ties with any companies that do business with them and he had to sever those ties by February 11, 1999. If he did not sever those ties, which a number of documents are now showing he did not, then he would be in breach of the contract he signed with the Olympics if any of the Bain companies did do business with them.

[Ruby the Liberal]

11. Excellent.

Thank you so much for your help!

[Spazito]

12. You're very welcome!

[silverweb]

13. Excellent summary.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Bookmarking this for reference in case it comes up with family during vacation later this month.

Nice job.

[Ruby the Liberal]

16. Wow - glad you thought that might help.

I wish us BOTH the best in trying to pry them loose.

[Happyhippychick]

14. I could be wrong but i think he also needed to prove MA residency in order to run for governor

and he may have lied about that too.

[The Magistrate]

15. Yes, Ma'am, He Did

And he did....

"Romney loves America like a tick loves a dog."

[silverweb]

22. May I use that line, Sir?

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]"Romney loves America like a tick loves a dog."

I don't believe I've ever seen it put quite so accurately and succinctly at the same time.

Delish!

[malaise]

39. That's a beautiful sentence

Love it.

[Ruby the Liberal]

19. That is the one piece I am not clear on.

My link for that is Rachel's show from last night when she had the segment on the debate when he was running - and interviewed the woman he was running against.

Rachel said something about people being uneasy back then about some-guy-from-Utah-that-wanted-to-be-governor and "sworn testimony" using Bain to prove residency, but I wasn't totally clear about the implications of that (or ramifications of an after the fact breach of the Olympics contract).

I originally had in the OP that the person who asked hates politics, and I didn't want to overwhelm her with too much detail (or links, unless she asks for them), but would like to understand that myself.

If he misrepresented to the State of MA to get approval to run - is that also a crime like the federal filing lies?

[Wounded Bear]

25. I would assume that the qualifications for Gov...

are in the state constitution. Misrepresentation must be a violation of some kind.

[truebluegreen]

29. He had to prove his eligibility...

and to do that he had to show that he was a resident of Massachusetts for seven years prior to running for governor. That was a problem because he spent 3 years in Utah, and filed his taxes there (just an oversight, of course).

I don't know what the legalities are, but it seems a charge of perjury would be possible.

[liam_laddie]

40. "Mother Jones" June 13 - article

Here's another felony - false voter registration, in MA -$10k fine, five years as a guest of the State. May also be a Federal felony.
Following in the foot-steps of several Rethug luminaries: Ann Coulter (FL or CT?), Rush Limpballz (FL or NY?), Bush 41 (ME or TX?), Cheney (TX or WY?). WTF? They can't recall where they reside? Would fit the R profile - dumbass. It's worth reading the reader comments for more viewpoints and references.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2011/06/did-mitt-romney-commit-voter-fraud

[scheming daemons]

18. No republican will read that many words

Too long.

[Ruby the Liberal]

21. How kind of you.

This is an intelligent woman, who will read and respond to this - or I wouldn't have bothered. She just avoids politics because she hates the topic.

[scheming daemons]

41. "Intelligent" and "republican" can't coexist in the same individually

[Ruby the Liberal]

42. Then never try to convince one to see things your way.

Because if you approach them with that attitude, you will lose and do more damage than good. Those of us who have worked GOTV efforts realize that a lot of people may be willing to listen - depending on how you approach them.

[Cali_Democrat]

20. That pretty much sums it up

Either way he committed a felony.

[coalition_unwilling]

23. May I use this on my FB page for all my wingnut 'friends'?

[Ruby the Liberal]

24. By all means.

I appreciate the good folks here helping clean it up for a non-liberal reader. Do with it as you choose.

[mac56]

30. I reprinted too, with attribution, on my blog.

Thanks.

[Ruby the Liberal]

32. I didn't include links, but you may want to:

Olympics:

February 11, 1999 contract date: Romney will have to sever ties with any companies that do business with the games.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=romney-hired-to-lead-salt-lake-games-from-scandal-1999-02-13

Run for President of the US

Federal disclosure filing 2011:

http://pfds.opensecrets.org/N00000286_2010_pres.pdf

Run for Governor of MA:

State of MA Election disclosure filing 2001:

http://romneyfacts.com/assets/Personal%20Financial%20Forms/Personal%20finances/SFI/2001%20SFI%20WMR.pdf

State of MA Election disclosure filing 2002:

http://www.romneyfacts.com/assets/Personal%20Financial%20Forms/Personal%20finances/SFI/2002%20SFI%20WMR.pdf

Sample SEC Filings 1999-2002:

2000: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/892058/000092701600002483/0000927016-00-002483-0001.txt

2001: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1054290/000092701601001009/0000927016-01-001009-0001.txt

AmPad bankruptcy:

Bain invested $5 million, made $100 million, taxpayers bailed out the pension fund:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/05/bankruptcy-report-on-bainowned-ampad-creditors-repaid-124072.html

Stericycle:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/romney-bain-abortion-stericycle-sec

$100k+ "salary" for doing nothing at Bain (retroactive retirement):

http://blogs.bostonmagazine.com/boston_daily/2012/07/16/mitt-romney-retirement-bain-capital/

[geckosfeet]

26. Great synopsis. Thanks for the effort.

However - too many expansive thoughts for the average teabag-thing to wrap its head around.

[Botany]

27. Great job

Mitt lied to either the SEC or the FEC in papers that he filed.

[Voice for Peace]

28. great job, nicely written

without any negativity, respectful.

[Ruby the Liberal]

33. The reason this person hates politics is the negativity.

She thinks they are all crooks (and I don't want to even say what she thinks about Obama ) so I tried to keep the editorializing to a minimum and just stick to the facts that are known at this point. Stericycle will likely be all it takes to keep her home in November - but I am working on her.

[Voice for Peace]

34. it's an art

I love good communication, really I salute you -- it is so worth
the effort, to find the cracks where the light gets in. I believe
there's a path to every person's conscience & heart.

[Ruby the Liberal]

37. Yeah, that.

[Patiod]

31. Thanks for this - clear and useful

This is the clearest explanation I've seen yet.

[bucolic_frolic]

35. Thanks for a MittLoad of the problem ... Now Democrats problem ...

is to convince the voting public, especially independents, that this REALLY REALLY MATTERS

This has more fingerprints than AWOL 2000

and is not something fabricated like Swiftboat or even Whitewater

and it's not something in his private life like an affair.

It is something tangible, with facts, with MAJOR LEAGUE legal consequences

akin to Watergate Coverup.

Focus on nothing else, Democrats. Stop patting yourselves on the back
and high-fiving ....

Selling these truthful matters to the voting public is ALL THAT MATTERS

from now until November.

Go join your local Democratic County Committee, volunteer, talk, make phone calls,
get out in public, offer your services to the Democratic Party without question
for 19 weeks.

GO! Grab the phone book, call them NOW!!

[Ruby the Liberal]

36. That, or all "Democrats" need to do is keep repeating the question:

What is Willard Romney hiding - that is so much more damaging than the hits from keeping all of this a secret?

[barbtries]

38. very well done.

let us know the response if you can...

[B Calm]

43. Typical con artist. .

[Tumbulu]

44. Wow, thank you so much!

I really did not fully understand the whole thing before. Now it's YIKES!

You did such a great job of making it really clear. Thanks you for posting this for all of us to perhaps use with others!

[Ruby the Liberal]

45. I am glad to hear that! It helped me also, to line it up.

The Olympics contract date posted by Spazito upthread really hit me as to why the Willard campaign is so damn adamant about this. Not sure why its important, but that piece of the puzzle really seems to be driving alot of this insistence of Feb 1999 Feb 1999 Feb 1999 Feb 1999.