Maher: The Silliest Part of Putting God on Money is It's Redundant 14SEP12

BLUNT and honest, Bill Maher hits the nail on the head when he discusses the hypocrisy of having God on our money because for so many their god is money. He throws it right in the face of all the religious adherents of the rick warren and pat robertson the mega churches and the hypocritical right wing evangelicals who preach the gospel of greed, not the gospel of Jesus and his teachings concerning the needs of the least among us. As Maher says, mitt romney's (and is supporter's) god can't be found in any American church because it is in the Cayman Islands and Zurich. Check out this video via CrooksAndLiars....

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/maher-silliest-part-putting-god-money-its-r

Romney party yacht ‘Cracker Bay’ flies Cayman Islands flag in Tampa & Cap'n Mitt and the Pirates of Cracker Bay 29AUG12 & 7SEP12

FLAUNTING his wealth and his off shore tax haven bank accounts mitt romney's yacht "cracker bay", a name reflecting mitt's sense of humor referencing all us common people, flies the flag of the Cayman Islands while in Tampa. Those attending the romney fund raiser on board didn't seem to have any problem with handing over their money to purchase their presidential candidate on board his foreign flagged boat, offering proof of whose interest he will represent if elected. 

By David Edwards

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign on Wednesday partied with wealthy donors on a 150-foot yacht that flies the flag of the Cayman Islands, according to an ABC News report.
Members of the Romney Victory Council, who have each raised more than $1 million for the candidate, mingled with Romney’s brother, Scott, and other relatives in Tampa aboard the luxury yacht “Cracker Bay.”
While they waited outside the unadvertised event, ABC News snapped photos of the Cayman Islands civil ensign flag flying on the yacht’s stern.
Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA) was reportedly scheduled to speak to the more than 50 people attending.
“It was a really nice event,” billionaire energy industry executive Wilbur Ross told the network. “These are good supporters.”
Romney came under fire earlier this year when it was revealed that he had millions stashed in the Cayman Islands, a notorious tax haven. In August, Vanity Fair reported that Romney still had a personal stake in at least 12 of Bain Capital’s Cayman Island funds, worth up to $30 million.
The candidate recently insisted to Fox News host Chris Wallace that “there was no reduction — not one dollar reduction — in taxes by virtue of having an account in Switzerland or a Cayman Islands investment.”
“I think it’s ironic they do this aboard a yacht that doesn’t even pay its taxes,” a woman who lives at the marina where Cracker Bay is moored told ABC News.
Watch this video from ABC News, broadcast Aug. 29, 2012.
Photo: Flickr/Daniel Cornwall]

[Correction: An earlier version of the report incorrectly identified Fox News host Chris Wallace]
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/29/romney-party-yacht-cracker-bay-flies-cayman-islands-flag-in-tampa/ 

Cap'n Mitt and the Pirates of Cracker Bay

Ever since humans first took to the sea, pirates have inexplicably vanished and reappeared along our coasts and waterways.  Who were those mysterious figures who appeared along the mist-shrouded docks and beaches of Tampa Bay during last week's Republican Convention?  While all eyes were on the Democrats, we decided to find out.
Pirates are often portrayed as a festive lot, so our investigation began with an ABC News report of an event where corporate campaign donors were lavishly entertained by The Commodores, whose hit "Brick House" captivated 70's-era dancers with its hypnotic chorus --
Chick-a-maw, chick-a-maw, chick-a-maw-maw,
Chick-a-maw, chick-a-maw, chick-a-MAW-maw!
-- and the extra syllables and syncopated pauses added to selected word:"She's a ba-rick" --(pause) -- "house/she's mighty mighty just lettin' it all hang out ....
It is a wondrous thing to watch rich white people getting down -- trust me, I know -- and many a groove thing was undoubtedly shaken at the Commodores event, where Sen. John Cornyn of Texas thanked donors from Blue Cross Blue Shield, AFLAC, and AT&T. Each has financial interests affected by the law known as "Obamacare."
But boogieing and piracy are not the same thing, so our search continued. Elsewhere in Tampa a conservative group called the American Access Network sold access to elected officials "advertised the chance to mingle with members of Congress and senior staff at an arena skybox overlooking the convention floor for $30,000," according to ABC. And even better offers were available:
"Full access to the group's intimate luncheons and hot ticket concerts were open to their biggest supporters -- those who gave $250,000."
As the Commodores might say: Yeeowww!
Unethical? Sure. But piracy? We weren't sure. The trail grew warmer when we learned about the yacht party thrown by a Florida developer for "bundlers" who had raised $1 million or more for Mitt Romney's campaign.  ABC reports that more than fifty people were entertained aboard the Cracker Bay, a yacht flying the ensign of the Cayman Islands, where the American-owned vessel was registered.
As the astute reader may have already noted, the boat shares its nationality with a big chunk of Mitt Romney's money.
We wondered at the use of the name "Cracker," a derisive Southern term for white males, since that appeared to be the primary's demographic group represented at these affairs. Were these wealthy men mocking their poorer counterparts, who are sometimes disparaged with the term? But another GOP patron professed ignorance when reached aboard his boat, the SS Peckerwood.
"We let the help name our boats," he explained.  
In true piratical fashion, guests aboard the Cracker Bay attempted to conceal their identity, in this case by covering up their name tags as they boarded the boat. But reporters observed  Texas oil heir Charlie Moncrief, whose family saga would put Dallas to shame.
Another guest was ultra-right real estate investor Melvin Sembler, who earned notoriety for running a sadistic and exploitative string of youth "rehabs."  It would ruin the lighthearted tone of this piece to describe the horrors which STRAIGHT, Inc. inflicted on young people, so we'll leave the  horrifying details to Alternet and the Institute for Policy Studies instead.
Self-respecting pirates would be ashamed to be associated with the likes of Mel Sembler, who bought himself the ambassadorships to Australia and Nauru under George H. W. Bush and the Italian ambassadorship under George W. Bush. Which ambassadorship might Sembler purchase under a Romney Administration? The U.N.? The moon?
Then there's Cracker Bay "captain" Gary Morse. Morse owns the development company behind "The Villages," a string of "master-planned" retirement communities in Florida.   Florida's unusual "special taxing district" regulations allow private corporations like Disney to usurp government functions, including taxation, while exempting themselves from most government regulations. (Mystery writer Carl Hiassen has written a nonfiction book called Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World which addresses Disney's misuse of these laws).
"The Villages" are governed by "Community Development Districts" -- most of which are controlled by Morse himself. From a comprehensive and compelling Bloomberg report:

Morse controls almost every facet of life at the Villages... On a 33-square-mile parcel... he's built and sold more than 44,000 homes... created 39 golf courses and developed 4.5 million square feet of commercial space, including two hotels, 60 restaurants and two movie theaters... Morse owns the local newspaper, a television channel and an AM radio station... (his) commercials have been fixtures on the Golf Channel. His bank lends to retirees fleeing south; his insurance company provides them coverage. He even gets paid to pick up the trash and organize tee times.

It's like something out of The Prisoner, Patrick McGoohan's surrealistic 1960s television series on the BBC. "Be seeing you!"  How does Morse do it?  Bloomberg explains: "Morse... has become one of America's wealthiest real estate tycoons with the help of tax-exempt municipal bonds issued by special government entities he's created to fund the expansion of the Villages."
Traditional pirates operate outside government control, often in self-governed areas which anarchy theorists sometimes describe with the acronym "TAZ" (for "Temporary Autonomous Zone").  But if pirates have typically been "non-state actors," Morse hijacks government itself and exploits them to expand his own wealth.  In other words, he's a lot like Mitt Romney and other wealthy Republicans: They gripe about the cost of government, even as they exploit it to enrich themselves at public expense.
"Special taxing districts" are a microcosm of the para-piratical dystopia Republicans would create for the entire country, where corporate rule is supreme and democracy is as faint a memory as oceangoing corsairs.
Bloomberg reports that Morse's empire includes "four jet planes -- including a 21-seat Dassault Falcon 900 and two 22-seat Dassault Mystere-Falcon 50s, which can fly 3,623 miles without refueling." That sounds like the makings of a fleet.  Was there a secret global flotilla of conservative bandit ships ringing the world's oceans?  To help us find out, local informants arranged a secret meeting with a figure known to us only as "Cap'n Mitt." In the minutes just before dawn, a schooner emerged as if by magic from the mists off Tampa Bay.
The pirate ship's rigging creaked in the salty breezes as an ageless figure, his ample hair and square jaw strangely familiar beneath his eyepatch and sailor's hat, peered at us from the fog-shrouded deck.
"Are you a Republican?" we asked him. "Aye," he said tersely. From the crow's nest high above us, a dog barked. "But are you a pirate?"  He chuckled.  "Well, we don't run from government, we own it. But what do Republicans do then?" he asked rhetorically. "We privatize public services." I waited. "And what's another word for 'pirate'?" He paused for dramatic effect.
"'Privateer,'" he answered himself with a smirk.

"Is the Cracker Bay part of your fleet?" He nodded.
"What part of the Republican Platform appeals to the rich men who fly your flag?" we asked.  "Is it the return to the lawless days of deregulation?" He chuckled. "That pleases them mightily," he said.  "What about taking away government agencies' ability to protect people from corporate predators?"  He smiled. "Aye," he said, "that does too."
"But how do you explain this piracy to the voters?"
He chuckled, then cast off for deep waters. The ghostly ship was already fading back into the mist-shrouded deep as he said "Everybody loves a party." He smiled enigmatically. "So we pretend they're invited to ours." I shouted my final words as the ship began to vanish into the mist: "But they're not!  That's  obvious by now! What can you possibly say to sell a program like that?"

The now-invisible buccaneer chuckled. "With enough money and media power behind me, all I have to say is ... "  The unseen freebooter's voice echoed across the fog-shrouded waves: "... chick  a maw, chick a maw maw! Yeoww!"
And with that his vessel disappeared, never again to be seen by human eyes or revealed by campaign disclosure laws.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/capn-mitt-and-the-pirates_b_1866158.html?utm_source=Alert-blogger&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Email%2BNotifications

Patriotic Millionaires to Romney: Patriots Pay Their Taxes, Did You? 17JUL12

PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES Have a lot to say about mitt romney and how he may have amassed his fortune and his ability to be "CEO" of the United States. AND they all agree he should release at least 10 years of his tax returns to the public. WE have the right to know just how he got to be so rich and if it was at the expense of the social contract that used to bind this nation together. WHAT ARE YOU HIDING MITT?????

Given that our country was founded on an argument over taxes . . .

Given that the  most potent symbol of that argument took place in Gov. Romney’s home state . . .

Given that we are in the middle of a massive public debate about taxes . . .

Given that our revenues do not adequately fund our government and our credit rating was downgraded earlier this year for the first time in history . .

Given that dozens of members of Congress would rather skip out on our bills than raise taxes . . .

Given that Gov. Romney is attempting to become ‘CEO’ of the United States but has publicly admitted he wants to invest as little in the country as possible . . .

It is patently ridiculous for ANY American politician – whether they are running for President or dog catcher – to refuse to share his tax returns with his fellow citizens. 

The Patriotic Millionaires issued a press release today which I thought you might like to see.  They came out swinging against Mitt Romney for not disclosing more of his tax returns to the American people.  Please see the Press Release below to find out what our Millionaires said.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 17, 2012   
CONTACT: Shruti Sehgal
ssehgal@agendaproject.org; 212-481-8304

Patriotic Millionaires

Demand Mitt Romney Release Tax Returns

Patriotic Millionaires Ask: “What is he hiding?"

New York, NY – Today, The Patriotic Millionaires demanded that presidential candidate Mitt Romney release at least 10 years of his tax returns publicly. To date, Romney has only released his 2010 tax returns and an estimate for his 2011 return.

Mitt Romney has resisted all public pressure to fully disclose his tax returns, despite multiple allegations that he made considerable use of tax havens, offshore accounts and carried interest to avoid taxes.  According to a recent ad by the Obama campaign, Mr. Romney paid less than 15 percent in taxes on $43 million in income over the last two years. 

Patriotic Millionaire and Managing Partner of InterMedia Partners Leo Hindery (NY) says:

"No one should ever be President who won’t disclose to the American people – proudly and forthrightly – how he lives as a taxpaying citizen.  Patriotism and, in every way, support of our government run hand in hand.  To whom much has been given even more is expected in terms of disclosure.”

Patriotic Millionaire and former Google Software Engineer David desJardins (CA) says:

"Mitt Romney owes a detailed explanation to the American public about how he got $100 million or more in his IRA, without illegal self-dealing.  The Individual Retirement Account is a tool for Americans to save for retirement, something most Americans desperately need.  If Romney took advantage of quasi-legal manipulations to use his IRA instead as a vehicle for hiding hundreds of millions of dollars from the IRS and avoid paying even the low 15% rate on his income, we should know how he did it and whether it was legal, or not."

Patriotic Millionaire and CEO of NuCompass Mobility Services Frank Patitucci (CA) says:

“What has he got to hide? Frankly, I'd like to know how a business owner like Mr. Romney can get by with only paying a 15% tax rate. I own a medium size business that is organized as an "S" corporation and I pay personal income tax rates of 35% on every penny the company earns.”

Patriotic Millionaire and Founder of Schottenfeld Group Richard Schottenfeld (NY) says:

"Tax fairness is the central issue in this campaign. We have the right to know how Mr. Romney conducted his own affairs before we can determine if he is fit to conduct the affairs of the American people."

 Patriotic Millionaire and Co-CEO of eScription Paul Egerman (MA) says:

“Why doesn’t Governor Romney want Americans to see his tax returns?   Perhaps, he wants to hide the truth about how little in taxes people like Mitt Romney and me have paid on many millions of dollars of income.  Or, perhaps he wants to hide the way that he’s used paper losses to get refunds on prior years’ returns.    He needs to release at least 10 years of returns.   Governor Romney should also come clean and release at least the past ten years of his Massachusetts state income tax returns to answer lingering questions about his residency.”

 Patriotic Millionaire and Principal of Zygote Ventures Jerry Fiddler (FL) says:

"Governor Romney says that his business experience has qualified him to be our President.  That's fine, if he's willing to be open about how his business and finances have worked.  He can't ask for our trust, while at the same time be unwilling to be open about how he has conducted his personal business. "

 Patriotic Millionaire and Chairman of Campus Works Inc Eric Schoenberg (NJ)  says:

"Since the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, the US federal budget deficit has exploded while the tax rates paid by wealthy Americans have shrunk to their lowest levels in over fifty years.  Even so, many rich Americans have continued to use questionable loopholes to lower their taxes even further.  From his 2010 return alone, it is obvious Governor Romney has benefited enormously from lower rates (and has proposed tax policies which would drastically reduce his own tax liabilities even further), so I think it only reasonable that the American people have the opportunity to see for themselves how he has availed himself of other loopholes by releasing at least a decade of his tax returns."

 Patriotic Millionaire and President of Grain Pro Inc Philippe Villers (MA) says:

"I don't understand why  Romney is so resistant  to disclosing his  income  tax  returns or why he  claims he wasn't part of  Bain when he  was listed as  CEO. Something doesn't  meet the eye."

 Patriotic Millionaire and former AOL Executive Charlie Fink (VA) says:

“It makes you wonder if Romney isn't releasing his tax returns because he doesn't want us to see ways he avoided paying taxes." 

 Patriotic Millionaire and Attorney Josh Kanter(VA)  says:
“Mr. Romney is running for President, not dog catcher... By running for President, Mr. Romney opens himself up to a heightened level of scrutiny. That was his choice. Now Mr. Romney owes it to the American people to disclose his tax returns and to provide sufficient information to demonstrate that he has been, and is, playing by the rules. He should voluntarily show the American people that he plays by the same rules as everyone else.”

 *The Patriotic Millionaires are available for comment and/or television and radio booking.  If you would like to speak with a Patriotic Millionaire or host one on your program, please contact Shruti Sehgal at ssehgal@agendaproject.org or 212-481-8304. 

·         The Patriotic Millionaires was formed in Fall 2010 by some of the country’s most financially successful citizens who came together to urge the President to let the Bush tax cuts expire for people making more than $1 million per year.  Now, Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength consists of more than 200 members, including:  more than a dozen current and former Google employees, actress Edie Falco of Showtime’s Nurse Jackie, the founder of Esprit, the founder of the Princeton Review, the founder of Ask.com, legendary philanthropist Michael Steinhardt, famed economist Nouriel Roubini, financial guru Andrew Tobias, top executives from Warburg, Pincus, and other major financial firms, filmmaker Abigail Disney, and many others. 

IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT PRESIDENTS AND THEIR TAX RETURNS
 

·          So far, Mitt Romney has only released his 2010 tax returns and an estimate for his 2011 return. President Obama has released his tax returns from 2000 - 2011. President George Bush released tax returns from 2000 - 2007.

·          Mitt Romney has rejected the calls of both Democrats and Republicans like Rupert Murdoch, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, former RNC Chair Michael Steele, ABC News' George Will and Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol to release more years of his tax returns. 

·          In the history of Presidential politics some candidates have released as many as 28 years of their tax returns.  President Obama has released 12 years of tax returns.

·          Mitt Romney's father, George, also released 12 years of tax return when he ran for President in 1967-68.

5 Questions for the Fact-Checkers on Romney and Bain 16JUL12

FROM Mother Jones, 5 questions for the fact checkers that could answer a lot of questions about mitt romney and bain capital. Will they actually check these out? And for those of you who wonder why Mother Jones doesn't check them out the answer is they have, but since they are not seen as non-partisan the answers to these questions will carry more weight if answered by the fact check organizations. Check out more on romney and bain on my page mitt romney & bain capital  http://bucknacktssordidtawdryblog.blogspot.com/p/mitt-romney-bain-capital-14jul12.html

—By Nick Baumann

bbbar/ShutterStock

Media fact-checkers continue to take issue with the Obama campaign's claims that Mitt Romney was responsible for Bain Capital's outsourcing of American jobs, even though journalists (including Mother Jones' David Corn, Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall, the Boston Globe, Huffington Post, and others) continue to uncover more information about Romney's role at Bain between 1999 and 2002. Here are five questions for Annenberg's FactCheck.org and the Washington Post's "Fact Checker" that may help sort things out:

1. Is it possible that even without day-to-day managerial control, Mitt Romney may bear some moral or personal responsibility for the actions of Bain Capital post-1999, given that no one is disputing that he benefited financially from its actions and that his name was on the door? Is that question even fact-checkable?
More MoJo coverage of Mitt Romney:
• What We Know About Romney and Bain, Explained
  
• Mitt Romney's Bain Capital Timeline
• Romney Invested in Medical-Waste Firm That Disposed of Aborted Fetuses, Government Documents Show
  
• Romney Invested Millions in Chinese Firm That Profited on US Outsourcing
  
• Mitt Romney's Long History of Misremembering His Past
• Get-Rich-Quick Profiteers Love Mitt Romney, and He Loves Them Back
  
• How Romney Fibs—and Gets Away With It
2. Much of the debate over when Romney left Bain has been driven by the Obama campaign's claims that Bain invested in outsourcing US jobs while he was there. Fact-checkers have said it's unfair to tie Romney to outsourcing during the 1999-2002 period. How should voters account for the fact that, as Corn reported, Bain invested in Global-Tech Appliances, a Chinese company that depended on outsourcing, prior to February 1999?
3. Even if the Obama campaign made inflated claims about Romney's post-1999 role at Bain, are Bain and Romney's categorical denials that Romney was not "involved in the operations of any Bain Capital Entity in any way" and Romney "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" justifiable? What is the definition of "operations" and "management activities"? Does it include signing documents? Are companies that Bain part-owned "Bain Capital Entities"? Are companies like LifeLike, whose board meetings Romney says he attended, Bain "portfolio companies"? If not, what is a "portfolio company"? Does serving as CEO/president/chairman of the Bain board count as a "management activity"? If not, why not?
4. Does what we know about Romney's situation during the 1999-2002 period—that Jane Swift's Massachusetts governorship had not yet imploded, that Romney was also mulling a run for Utah governor, that contemporaneous accounts refer to him taking a "leave of absence," and that on Sunday one of his advisers referred to Romney's retirement as "retroactive"—indicate that Romney was maintaining some ties with Bain, if not active day-to-day management, in order to keep his options open if a political opportunity did not become available? Given those circumstances, would the company have made major decisions he strongly disagreed with?
5. Most broadly: Given the available evidence, is it unfair to attribute any responsibility for Bain's post-1999 actions to Mitt Romney? Are such attacks completely out of bounds? Would it be correct to say that Romney's company—rather than Romney himself—outsourced jobs, given that he still owned it?

Correction: Due to a production error, a draft of this piece was published earlier. The text has been updated and corrected.
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/07/5-questions-fact-checkers-romney-and-bain?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NickBaumann+%28MoJo+Author+Feeds%3A+Nick+Baumann+|+Mother+Jones%29 

Democrats say Mitt Romney failed to disclose offshore company in Bermuda 10JUL12

mitt romney is digging his own grave on this issue. The nation is in recession, there are a lot of people still struggling, and romney defends the 1% as job creators that should not be subjected to higher taxes. The perception is what he is really doing is just protecting the rich, including himself, from paying their fair share in taxes, especially with the discovery of romney's overseas bank accounts and corporate holdings in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Switzerland. Here is PolitiFact's ruling on romney's corporate Bermuda holdings.....

Says Mitt Romney "has a corporation in Bermuda (but) failed to disclose that on seven different financial disclosures."

Robert Gibbs on Sunday, July 8th, 2012 in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union"

Democrats say Mitt Romney failed to disclose offshore company in Bermuda

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In the Democratic playbook, the more attention paid to Mitt Romney’s wealth, the better. Over the past few days, many Democrats questioned whether Romney used offshore holdings to dodge U.S. taxes and pressed him to release more of his personal financial information. Obama campaign senior adviser Robert Gibbs took the occasion during CNN’s State of the Union to say, "Nobody knows why he has a corporation in Bermuda, why he failed to disclose that on seven different financial disclosures."

We wondered if Gibbs had his facts right. Does Romney currently have a stake in a Bermuda corporation? And did he fail to disclose it seven times?

Reporting by the Associated Press and Vanity Fair teed this up. Both news organizations explored one of Romney’s overseas accounts, Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors, Ltd. The firm is described in SEC filings as "a Bermuda corporation wholly owned by W. Mitt Romney." (For more details, check out the AP's interesting account.)

In his 2010 tax return and his 2011 estimated filing, Romney includes Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors, Ltd. The beginning balance is pegged at $10,432. He and his wife Ann are the sole owners.  According to the Associated Press, Romney ran his investments in other Bain Capital deals through this offshore corporation.

Democrats have pounced on the issue. Offshore holdings might be perfectly legal, but they also might paint Romney as one of the super-rich who may be using an offshore tax shelter.

Romney’s ownership of Sankaty is not in doubt, at least not as recently as this past December, according to Romney’s 2011 estimated tax return. So Gibbs appears to be on solid ground that Romney has the company now. We asked the Romney campaign if they could give us more current information on the status of Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors, but they did not respond.

In an interview with Radio Iowa on Monday, Romney deflected the issue, saying his foreign investments are in a blind trust.

"I don’t manage them. I don’t even know where they are," Romney said. "That trustee follows all U.S. laws. All the taxes are paid, as appropriate. All of them have been reported to the government. There’s nothing hidden there."

As for Gibbs’ other assertion that Romney has failed to disclose his stake in Sankaty seven times, that also is largely accurate. We counted six disclosure forms where Romney made no reference at all to the Bermuda corporation. Those include his filings in Massachusetts when he was running for governor or holding office and his federal disclosures for his presidential bids.

The seventh appears to be his 2001 disclosure, which lists Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors LLC. Note the slight difference in those three letters -- LLC instead of Ltd. The LLC, a limited liability corporation he named on the form, is based in Delaware. The offshore corporation by the same name ends in Ltd. and there is no mention of it until Romney’s lawyers began amending his disclosures this year.

There is some question whether he was required to disclose this asset. In 2003, on the eve of running for governor, he put Sankaty into a blind trust. Thereafter, he disclosed the presence of the trust and might not have been required to say what was in it. It is also unclear whether the nominal value of Sankaty would be high enough to warrant disclosure.

In 2011, its value was $10,432. However, as the Associated Press pointed out, that could well ignore the potential income that might flow through the fund. It is possible for investments made many years ago to produce over $1 million in payoffs that suddenly appear on the books.

Our ruling

Obama campaign adviser Robert Gibbs said Romney owns a Bermuda-based corporation and that he failed to disclose his ownership seven times.

The documentary evidence indicates Gibbs is right that Romney owned it when he filed his estimated tax return in December and that he did not disclose it earlier. The Romney campaign has not said the statements are wrong.

We rate Gibbs claim True.
UPDATE -- We may have had the lyrics to Kokomo in our heads ("Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama...") because twice in this article we referred to the Bahamas when we meant Bermuda. We've corrected the mistakes, although we still can't get the song our of our head.

About this statement:

Published: Tuesday, July 10th, 2012 at 3:59 p.m.
Subjects: Candidate Biography, Corrections and Updates, Taxes
Sources:
CNN, State of the Union with Candy Crowley, July 8, 2012

Vanity Fair, Where the Money Lives, Nicholas Shaxson, August 2012

Associated Press, Assets Offshore Raise Romney Wealth Questions, July 4, 2012

Politico, Robert Gibbs, Dan Senor duke it out on disclosure,Tim Mack, July 9, 2012

Reuters, Obama Team Targets Romney over Taxes, Republican Call Foul, Tabassa Zakaria, July 8, 2012,

Talking Points Memo, Romney, Obama Campaigns Duel Over Offshore Accounts, July 8, 2012

Obama Campaign, Ben LaBolt: Mitt Romney’s Offshore Bank Accounts, video

Radio Iowa, Romney Calls Obama Tax Plan a ‘Job Killer’, and Audio, July 9, 2012

TPM, Romney: I Didn’t Even Know About That Bermuda Company!, July 10, 2012

Boston.com, Romney’s 2011 estimated tax return

Massachusetts Democratic Party, Romney’s Disclosure Forms - 2001-2007

Open Secrets.org, Romney: Personal Finance Disclosures,

Securities and Exchange Commission, Sankaty Ownership Document, March 14, 2006

GoBig Network, Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors, LLC Profile,
Written by: Jon Greenberg
Researched by: Jon Greenberg
Edited by: Bill Adair



http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/jul/10/robert-gibbs/democrats-say-mitt-romney-failed-disclose-offshore/