Romneyfact

Romneyfact: A “fact” issued by the campaign of Mitt Romney that has serious questions about the veracity of that fact and where there is conflicting evidence of what actually happened.  Romney surrogate, Ed Gillepsie, said the candidate's departure for the Olympics was originally planned as a "leave of absence." "He ended up not going back at all and retired retroactively to February of 1999 as a result," Gillepsie said.  But largely overlooked in the discussion of departure date as Bain Capital CEO is why Mitt Romney used to claim he was only on leave between 1999 and 2002. If Romney really permanently left Bain in 1999 to run the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, he might have been ineligible to run for governor of Massachusetts.  As the Globe noted in its story, "financial disclosure documents Romney filed in Massachusetts show that he was paid as a Bain Capital executive while he directed the Olympics." But it is the last sentence in the article which may be the most important:  In Romney's 2002 race for governor, he testified before the state Ballot Law Commission that his separation from Bain in 1999 had been a "leave of absence" and not a final departure. And why was Mitt Romney testifying before the Massachusetts Ballot Law Commission? Because, it turns out, for three years he paid property taxes to Utah while claiming his $3.8 million Park City mansion was his "primary residence." And unless he could convince the Commission that was a mistake and that his tony Belmont estate was still home, Bain Capital CEO Romney would never have become Governor Romney. So which Romney story accurately presents the true facts?  Was he still employed by Bain (thus retaining his eligibility to run for Governor of Massachusetts and therefore in charge at Bain when all of the jobs in question were outsourced; or did he lie to the Massachusetts Ballot Law Commission and should have been ineligible to serve as Governor.  Regardless of which part, if any, of the story is actually true, the fact remains that while governor, Romney also outsourced Massachusetts jobs.  We do not need an outsourcer in chief to serve as President.