Romney’s Account of His Departure From Bain Undercut By…Romney Testimony
Asked to comment on this portion of Romney’s 2002 testimony, his campaign forwarded a statement it had previously released: “After extensive hearings the bipartisan [Massachusetts] Ballot Law Commission came to the same conclusion as numerous independent fact checkers in finding that Mitt Romney ended his active employment with Bain Capital in 1999.” But the Ballot Commission was not tasked with investigating the matter of Romney’s separation from Bain; it was not a major part of the hearing. A Romney campaign aide speaking on background notes, “Think about the 2002 Ballot Law Commission testimony that you’re citing. Mitt Romney was trying to prove his residency in Massachusetts. If he were running Bain Capital while he was in Salt Lake City running the Olympics, wouldn’t it have been easier for him to say so and thus easily prove his residency?” But the issue is not whether he was running Bain after February 1999, but whether he participated at all in any of its activities and transactions.
Romney’s mention of a “transition” period for his “work in Boston” is another contradiction for him to explain. Did he testify inaccurately during that hearing—after swearing to tell the truth? Or is he now trying to create a bright line—to distance himself from Bain-related layoffs and outsourcing—that didn’t exist? Any transition time for Romney at Bain would undermine his central claim about his last days at the firm.