Romney’s Bain Years: New Evidence, Same Conclusion

[geeker2]

July 12 ,2012


New reporting cites strong evidence that Mitt Romney wasn’t actively managing Bain Capital while he was running the Olympics, despite what the Obama campaign (and some news reports) would have voters believe.

Dan Primack, a senior editor at Fortune Magazine, reports on previously confidential “offering documents” that Bain circulated to potential investors in June 2000, September 2000 and again in January 2001. And he says that in each of those three documents Romney’s name is conspicuously absent from lists of senior investment managers at Bain.

Dan Primack, July 12: [T]he contemporaneous Bain documents show that Romney was indeed telling the truth about no longer having operational input at Bain…

This has become a key point of contention, because Obama TV ads accuse Romney of shipping U.S. jobs overseas. We reported that the Obama campaign had failed to back up its claims (“Obama’s ‘Outsourcer’ Overreach,” June 29), partly because Romney had left Bain in February 1999 to run the 2002 Winter Olympic and wasn’t actively in charge of the company at the time.

But the Obama campaign objected, claiming that Romney remained a part-time manager even while he was living in Utah and running the Olympics. We responded, finding the campaign’s evidence “weak or non-existent.”

Since then some other reporters have weighed in on Obama’s side. Articles in Mother Jones magazine and the Talking Points Memo website, and most recently a front-page Boston Globe story on July 12, all cite documents filed by Bain with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The TPM piece noted that in documents from July 2000 and February 2001 Romney listed his “principal occupation” as “Managing Director” of Bain, for example. And the Globe story reported that Bain repeatedly listed him on government filings as the man in charge.

On a media conference call about the Globe story, Stephanie Cutter, Obama’s deputy campaign manager, said the story proves that Romney had “full control” of Bain during this time and “therefore directly responsible” for decisions made at companies in which Bain invested. “Either Mitt Romney, through his own words and his own signature, was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the SEC, which is a felony. Or he was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the American people to avoid responsibility for some of the consequences of his investments,” Cutter said.

But we see little new in any of these SEC filings, and a University of Pennsylvania Law School professor we spoke to sees no basis for the Obama campaign’s claim that Romney committed a felony.

None of the SEC filings show that Romney was anything but a passive, absentee owner during that time, as both Romney and Bain have long said. It should not surprise anyone that Romney retained certain titles while he was working out the final disposition of his ownership, for example. We see nothing to contradict the statement that a Bain spokesman issued in response to the Globe article:

Bain Capital, July 12: Due to the sudden nature of Mr. Romney’s departure, he remained the sole stockholder for a time while formal ownership was being documented and transferred to the group of partners who took over management of the firm in 1999. Accordingly, Mr. Romney was reported in various capacities on SEC filings during this period.

Jill E. Fisch, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and co-director of the Institute for Law and Economics, said Romney would not have committed a felony by listing himself as managing director — even if he now claims he had no role in running the company after February 1999. There is no legal obligation to describe how active one is in the day-to-day management of the company, she said. And just because he held title of managing director doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s responsible for decisions like layoffs or outsourcing.

“If that really mattered to investors, they might consider that a civil liability, but we wouldn’t be talking about a felony,” she said.

We would reassess our judgment should somebody come up with evidence that Romney took part in specific management decisions or had any active role (not just a title) at Bain after he left to head the Olympics. But nothing we’ve seen directly contradicts Romney’s statements — which he has certified as true under pain of federal prosecution — that he “has not had any active role” with Bain or “been involved in the operations” of Bain since then.

And we wish to note, we’re not alone in this judgement. Others include:

Fortune’s Dan Primack — who covers Wall Street “deals and dealmakers” — addressed the Mother Jones reporting in a July 2 article that came to the same conclusion we do. Primack’s more recent reporting we’ve already noted.
The Washington Post‘s Fact Checker, Glenn Kessler, rebutted the Boston Globe story in a July 12 piece. “Just because you are listed as an owner of shares does not mean you have a managerial role,” Kessler writes. We agree.
Before the Globe story broke, the Columbia Journalism Review’s Brendan Nyhan stated: “[T]he specific cases cited by the Obama campaign largely concern actions taken by those companies during a period in which Romney was not making operational decisions at the firm. Journalists must be clear about this distinction.” After the Globe story, CJR’s Greg Marx wrote “there’s less new in the Globe article than the attention it has drawn suggests.”
ABC News’ Devin Dwyer reported July 12, after the Globe‘s story appeared: “Team Obama does not provide any specific evidence to back up claims that Romney was actively managing Bain between 1999 and 2002.”

I am RIOT and I am wrong again.

[dellinger63]

As long as the public is focused on how much money Mitt and Nancy et al make overseas, Obama et al can keep 'giving away' our tax dollars to Afghanistan, Pakistan and any other 'an' that comes along, social security and medicare be damned. We have rich people here that can make up the difference.

[OldDog]

Boston Globe repackages its 2002 Romney Bain CEO story as breaking news:

http://legalinsurrection.com/2012/07...breaking-news/

[OldDog]

"Romney and Bain claim that he was not involved with Bain, but Bain and its portfolio companies in their required filings under the Securities Exchange Act continuously certified to the Securities and Exchange Commission say precisely the opposite — asserting without qualification that he was a controlling person, fully in charge of Bain, under the Federal securities law. Under normal circumstances, the question of the truth of this representation would result in an investigation by the SEC into possible criminal, as well as civil, violations of the law."

— Robert Bauer, Obama campaign counsel, July 13, 2012

Three Pinocchios
"Significant factual error and/or obvious contradictions."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...PpgW_blog.html

[Riot]

Originally Posted by OldDog

"Romney and Bain claim that he was not involved with Bain, but Bain and its portfolio companies in their required filings under the Securities Exchange Act continuously certified to the Securities and Exchange Commission say precisely the opposite — asserting without qualification that he was a controlling person, fully in charge of Bain, under the Federal securities law. Under normal circumstances, the question of the truth of this representation would result in an investigation by the SEC into possible criminal, as well as civil, violations of the law."

— Robert Bauer, Obama campaign counsel, July 13, 2012

Three Pinocchios
"Significant factual error and/or obvious contradictions."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...PpgW_blog.html

Funny how they don't deeply address Romney's attempts to be eligible to run for Governor of Mass - where he claimed, in writing, he never left Bain for the Olympics, but just took a leave.

[OldDog]

Originally Posted by Riot

Funny how they don't deeply address Romney's attempts to be eligible to run for Governor of Mass - where he claimed, in writing, he never left Bain for the Olympics, but just took a leave.

I believe that Democrats spent a good bit of time and money trying to prove that Romney wasn't eligible to be on the ballot in 2002, and failed.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by OldDog

I believe that Democrats spent a good bit of time and money trying to prove that Romney wasn't eligible to be on the ballot in 2002, and failed.

Yes. And that failure, Mitt's sworn testimony to the Mass. balloting board during that time, that he was a Bain employee, is in direct contradiction to his current claims. And Boston Globe has copies of that contradictory statements in Mitt's own writing. That's why the Globe refused Romney camps demand to retract the story. Globe has 100% proof, in Romney's handwriting.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by OldDog

I believe that Democrats spent a good bit of time and money trying to prove that Romney wasn't eligible to be on the ballot in 2002, and failed.

i believe they also questioned mccains, since he was born in the canal zone.

[bigrun]

Originally Posted by Danzig

i believe they also questioned mccains, since he was born in the canal zone.

mccain a canalzonien?...why didn't that come out during the election?....wait, he lost anyway...

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by bigrun

mccain a canalzonien?...why didn't that come out during the election?....wait, he lost anyway...

oh, it was mentioned alright. how else would i know about it? but then he picked palin as his running mate, and that was waaaay more fun for the press!

[Riot]

Originally Posted by bigrun

mccain a canalzonien?...why didn't that come out during the election?....wait, he lost anyway...

It did, as soon as the racists started attacking Obama as a Kenyan not born in the country. They pointed out McCain was born in Panama.

[bigrun]

His credibility under attack, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Friday that he had "no role whatsoever in the management" of a private equity firm after early 1999 and demanded President Barack Obama apologize for aides who allege otherwise.

"This is simply beneath the dignity of the presidency of the United States," Romney said in an interview on ABC, one of several he granted to network and cable stations in the hope of extinguishing the controversy.

Securities and Exchange Commission documents have surfaced suggesting Romney played an active role through 2002.
The filings with the SEC place Romney in charge of Bain Capital from 1999 to 2001, the period in which it outsourced jobs and ran companies that fell into bankruptcy.

"Now, my understanding is that Mr. Romney attested to the SEC multiple times that he was the chairman, CEO and president of Bain Capital. And I think most Americans figure if you're the chairman, CEO and president of a company, that you are responsible for what the company does," Obama said.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2...te-ar-2056041/


Liar liar pants on fire..

[Rudeboyelvis]

Forward - by continuing to look backward.

I guess when you piss away 4 trillion dollars on "growing the economy" and still have over 8% unemployment 3 and a half years later, there is hardly anything to actually look "Forward" to.

[Riot]

"This election is a choice between #Forward and #Retroactively"

[geeker2]

Originally Posted by Rudeboyelvis

Forward - by continuing to look backward.

I guess when you piss away 4 trillion dollars on "growing the economy" and still have over 8% unemployment 3 and a half years later, there is anything actually look "Forward" to.

[pointman]

Obama is getting desperate. The lies just aren't flying like they used to.

[DaTruth]

Originally Posted by pointman

Obama is getting desperate. The lies just aren't flying like they used to.

Someone call a paralegal for him if he begins to faint.

http://www.examiner.com/article/medi...rom-paralegals

[AlreadyHome]

Originally Posted by Rudeboyelvis

Forward - by continuing to look backward.

I guess when you piss away 4 trillion dollars on "growing the economy" and still have over 8% unemployment 3 and a half years later, there is anything actually look "Forward" to.

OBAMA had to inherit a debt and start a new cycle for the USA. Republican only care about their type what ever that is, which is a bad thing for the country... United we Stand =Obama

OBAMA IS THE FUTURE......4MORE YEARS

Romney sucks he's a typical american only cares about his class
Obama is universal, he cares for all class rich or poor
and thats the difference maker in this election.
REPUBLICANS FKD everything up and here comes Obama to fix the country.
battling these HATERS..... MY PRESIDENT IS BLACK...

Its The American Way

[Clip-Clop]

"Now, my understanding is that Mr. Romney attested to the SEC multiple times that he was the chairman, CEO and president of Bain Capital. And I think most Americans figure if you're the chairman, CEO and president of a company, that you are responsible for what the company does," Obama said.

Which is of course 100% true... Unless you are me, I am not responsible for anything that happens in the outfit I am running.

Guy is ridiculous and no one ever calls him out on his nonsense.

[Rudeboyelvis]

Originally Posted by AlreadyHome

OBAMA had to inherit a debt and start a new cycle for the USA. Republican only care about their type what ever that is, which is a bad thing for the country... United we Stand =Obama

OBAMA IS THE FUTURE......4MORE YEARS

Romney sucks he's a typical american only cares about his class
Obama is universal, he cares for all class rich or poor
and thats the difference maker in this election.
REPUBLICANS FKD everything up and here comes Obama to fix the country.
battling these HATERS..... MY PRESIDENT IS BLACK...

Its The American Way

Wow. Good Going. U R rite 4MOORE YEARZ!!!