Northern Colorado Gazette

by Matt Lacy –

Bain Capital has issued a strong statement challenging a statement by the Obama team the Mitt Romney had either lied to the American people or committed a felony about his relationship with the company.

Bob Bauer with the Obama campaign sent out the following statement:

“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.”

The statement was picked up by the Boston globe which said the date of Romney’s departure is a “key point of contention because he has said his resignation in February 1999 meant he was not responsible for Bain Capital companies that went bankrupt or laid off workers after that date.”

If true, the allegations would be serious and could cause severe problems for the candidate.

However, Bain Capital quickly responded to the charges saying that Romney had no involvement with the management or other activities with the company after his departure in 1999.

In a statement the company told Politico, “Mitt Romney left Bain Capital in February 1999 to run the Olympics and has had absolutely no involvement with the management or investment activities of the firm or with any of its portfolio companies since the day of his departure. 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.”

Ben Shapiro writing for Breitbart noted that legally, there is a difference between a “controlling person” and an executive officer.

“If Romney owned 5 percent or more of shares in a reportable subsidiary or Bain Capital itself, he would be a “controlling person” without actually exercising any sort of control,” Shapiro said. “To exercise control, you must be an executive officer – somebody appointed to that position by the company. This is a basic SEC definition. And the Obama team is purposefully getting it wrong.”

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