FactCheck.org: Romney 'would be guilty of a federal felony' by claiming 1999 departure
Earlier this month, FactCheck.org stated that if Mitt Romney had not left Bain Capital in 1999, he "would be guilty of a federal felony by certifying on federal financial disclosure forms that he left active management of Bain Capital in February 1999."
FactCheck.org made that argument to dismiss complaints by the Obama campaign, but a new Boston Globe report on Mitt Romney's true tenure at Bain Capital -- which reportedly lasted until 2002, three years longer than Romney has stated -- brings FactCheck's statement into sharp relief.
"The Obama complaint claims we erred in saying Mitt Romney gave up active management of Bain Capital in early 1999 to run the 2002 Winter Olympics, insisting we were then wrong in saying Romney was not responsible for shipping U.S. jobs overseas," FactCheck's Brooks Jackson and Robert Farley wrote in a response to the Obama campaign, which had complained about an earlier article by the authors.
"In fact, if the Obama campaign were correct, Romney would be guilty of a federal felony by certifying on federal financial disclosure forms that he left active management of Bain Capital in February 1999."
Both the FactCheck.org News Desk and the Annenberg Public Policy Center, of which FactCheck.org is a part, could not be reached for comment early Thursday morning.
UPDATE: The Romney campaign pushed back against the Globe report on Thursday morning.
UPDATE 2: FactCheck.org responds: "We see little new in the Globe piece."
Bain Capital sends the following statement, following today's Boston Globe article reporting that MItt Romney was CEO there until 2002:
"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," Baron said in a statement to POLITICO. "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."
On July 2 and again on July 3, Mother Jones Washington bureau chief David Corn reported that SEC filings indicated Romney had played a role in Bain investments "until at least the end of 1999" and that a May 10, 2001, document described Romney as a member of the "management committee" of Bain funds.
On July 10, Talking Points Memo editor and publisher Josh Marshall uncovered two more SEC filings from July 2000 and February 2001 in which Romney listed his “principal occupation” as “Managing Director of Bain Capital, Inc.”
The original Globe article, which cites the previously reported SEC filings, did not mention Mother Jones or TPM, and did not link to those stories online.
"To me, this illuminates one difference between the ethos of Web journalism and that of traditional media," Corn told POLITICO. "In the former, you tend to do link-outs to indicate to readers what's been done on the story before and to show how you are advancing that story. This highlights the iterative nature of Web journalism. In the latter, you tend to ignore other work and present yours as appearing in a vacuum. Remember the days when The New York Times and Washington Post would often ignore (or try to ignore) each other's scoops as if to send a message: If we didn't discover this, it doesn't exist."
UPDATE: The Globe published the following 'Update' early Thursday afternoon, along with the statement from Baron:
"The Obama complaint claims we erred in saying Mitt Romney gave up active management of Bain Capital in early 1999 to run the 2002 Winter Olympics, insisting we were then wrong in saying Romney was not responsible for shipping U.S. jobs overseas," FactCheck's Brooks Jackson and Robert Farley wrote in a response to the Obama campaign, which had complained about an earlier article by the authors.
"In fact, if the Obama campaign were correct, Romney would be guilty of a federal felony by certifying on federal financial disclosure forms that he left active management of Bain Capital in February 1999."
Both the FactCheck.org News Desk and the Annenberg Public Policy Center, of which FactCheck.org is a part, could not be reached for comment early Thursday morning.
UPDATE: The Romney campaign pushed back against the Globe report on Thursday morning.
UPDATE 2: FactCheck.org responds: "We see little new in the Globe piece."
Bain Capital: Romney left in Feb. 1999
Bain Capital sends the following statement, following today's Boston Globe article reporting that MItt Romney was CEO there until 2002:
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."
Globe admits credit 'mistake' in Bain story
The Boston Globe's report today on the true length of Mitt Romney's tenure at Bain is making waves this morning — but as Globe editor Martin Baron acknowledged today, it failed to credit organizations that had previously reported on the story."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," Baron said in a statement to POLITICO. "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."
On July 2 and again on July 3, Mother Jones Washington bureau chief David Corn reported that SEC filings indicated Romney had played a role in Bain investments "until at least the end of 1999" and that a May 10, 2001, document described Romney as a member of the "management committee" of Bain funds.
On July 10, Talking Points Memo editor and publisher Josh Marshall uncovered two more SEC filings from July 2000 and February 2001 in which Romney listed his “principal occupation” as “Managing Director of Bain Capital, Inc.”
The original Globe article, which cites the previously reported SEC filings, did not mention Mother Jones or TPM, and did not link to those stories online.
"To me, this illuminates one difference between the ethos of Web journalism and that of traditional media," Corn told POLITICO. "In the former, you tend to do link-outs to indicate to readers what's been done on the story before and to show how you are advancing that story. This highlights the iterative nature of Web journalism. In the latter, you tend to ignore other work and present yours as appearing in a vacuum. Remember the days when The New York Times and Washington Post would often ignore (or try to ignore) each other's scoops as if to send a message: If we didn't discover this, it doesn't exist."
UPDATE: The Globe published the following 'Update' early Thursday afternoon, along with the statement from Baron:
BostonGlobe.com and Boston.com are currently experiencing publishing delays. When we are able to make online changes, information will be added to the story examining the length of Mitt Romney's tenure as chief executive of Bain Capital, which was published on BostonGlobe.com and on Boston.com today. The story will note previous work by other publications. The following related clarification will appear at the bottom of the story:UPDATE 2: The article was updated shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday with links to Mother Jones and Talking Points Memo in the 11th paragraph.
Clarification: This story has been updated to note previous reporting by the publications Mother Jones and Talking Points Memo on Romney’s involvement with Bain.
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