An interesting find on the Bain Capital controversy, from Jed Lewison: Bain Capital Press Release Described Romney as ‘Part-Time’ in July, 1999.

A July 19, 1999 press release distributed on behalf of Regan Communications and Bain Capital described Mitt Romney as the “Bain Capital CEO” and said he was “on a part-time leave of absence to head the Salt Lake City Olympic Committee.”

The press release, which announced the creation of a new private equity firm by two of Bain’s managing directors, included a quote from Romney giving his blessing to the new venture. “While we will miss them,” Romney said, “we wish them well and look forward to working with them as they build their firm.”

The press release, which was obtained through a simple Nexis search, is posted in full below the fold. It appears to contradict claims by both Romney and Bain that he had no involvement in the company’s day-to-day operations after February 11, 1999.

Here’s the actual paragraph from the press release, with the statement from Romney:

Bain Capital CEO W. Mitt Romney, currently on a part-time leave of absence to head the Salt Lake City Olympic Committee for the 2002 Games said, “Geoff and Marc have each made very significant contributions to the growth of our business, and have played important roles in furthering its success. In particular, Geoff, who helped us to start Bain Capital played a key role in building our franchise and led several of our highly successful transactions. Marc brought extensive capital markets expertise to the firm, where he co-headed our mezzanine efforts and played a critical role in conceiving and helping to start Sankaty Advisors, our high yield asset business, which now has over $ 2 billion under management. While we will miss them, we wish them well and look forward to working with them as they build their firm.”

Note that at the time of this statement, July 1999, Romney was obviously still intending to continue as CEO of Bain Capital; he says, “While we will miss them, we wish them well and look forward to working with them as they build their firm.”

Why this matters: Romney claims he made a complete break with Bain in February of 1999, but this press release shows he was still involved in the company’s business in July 1999.