Did Romney Lie In 2002 Or Is He Lying Now?

The Romney campaign has attempted to deflect allegations that, as head of vulture-capital firm Bain Capital, he oversaw practices that bankrupted companies and outsourced jobs, by claiming that he left Bain in 1999. The federal disclosure form Romney filed in 2011 as he began his presidential campaign, states that Romney retired from Bain in 1999, claiming "Since February 11, 1999, Mr. Romney has not had any active role with any Bain Capital entity and has not been involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way."

As reported by Huffington Post, that statement is contradicted by Romney's own testimony in 2002 as he tried to convince Massachusetts officials that he should be allowed to run for office there despite having lived in Utah for the previous three years. Romney testified that he attended board meetings in Massachusetts, and remained an active board member of Staples and LifeLike toys -- companies in which Bain was heavily invested.

Earlier the Boston Globe reported that public Securities and Exchange Commission documents filed after 1999 by Bain Capital state he remained the firm’s "sole stockholder, chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and president."

Talking Points Memo reported on SEC filings in 2000 and 2001 in which Romney lists his "principal occupation" as "Managing Director of Bain Capital, Inc."

In a potentially more damaging report, David Corn of Mother Jones reported previously on a 1999 SEC filing that listed Romney as the sole shareholder of the Bain company entities that had invested in Stericycle, Inc., a medical-waste disposal firm whose activities included disposing of aborted fetuses from family-planning clinics. Corn also noted an SEC filing in 2001 that listed Romney as a member of Bain's management committee, and a 2007 statement by a Bain company lawyer describing Romney's term as President of the 2002 olympics as a "leave of absence."