The Boston Globe has broken the story that Mitt Romney remained CEO of Bain Capital until 2001, even though he has said he was not involved in deals after 1999. This story is being treated as some sort of revelation, Mitt Romney stayed at Bain 3 years longer than he stated:
Government documents filed by Mitt Romney and Bain Capital say Romney remained chief executive and chairman of the firm three years beyond the date he said he ceded control, even creating five new investment partnerships during that time.Romney has said he left Bain in 1999 to lead the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, ending his role in the company. But public Securities and Exchange Commission documents filed later by Bain Capital state he remained the firm’s “sole stockholder, chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and president.”
Obama campaign officials are treating this as huge breaking news, even suggesting criminality if Romney falsely represented his position to the SEC.
It’s not. It’s old news, which I posted about in quoting the leaked McCain oppo research book on Romney:
Romney Served As CEO Of Bain Capital Through August 2001, Even Though He No Longer Ran Daily Operations. “Although he gave up running day-to-day operations at the venture capital firm in order to head the Salt Lake Winter Olympics, he remained CEO and held his financial interest in the company through August 2001.”
Guess who the McCain oppo research book cited for this information. Really, guess.
Okay, I’ll tell you, The Boston Globe (emphasis added):
Romney Served As CEO Of Bain Capital Through August 2001, Even Though He No Longer Ran Daily Operations. “Although he gave up running day-to-day operations at the venture capital firm in order to head the Salt Lake Winter Olympics, he remained CEO and held his financial interest in the company through August 2001.” (Stephanie Ebbert and Yvonne Abraham, “Camps Spar Over Romney Word Choice,” The Boston Globe, 10/31/02)
The article no longer is online, but references to it linger on the internet.
I assume Romney’s explanation has not changed, that he retained the role and duties of CEO, but gave up operational day-to-day control. That explanation either will fly or not; I think it should as even the new Globe article acknowledges that the Romney’s status was disclosed in SEC filings.
Whatever else it was, though, it’s old news repackaged by the same newspaper which first published it a decade ago.
Update: It gets worse. The Globe has taken down the story temporarily and will give partial credit to TPM and Mother Jones for a story The Globe originated a decade ago!
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