BuzzFeed: Marco Rubio Spent Big To Research Himself
On February 2, 2012, BuzzFeed reported:
Marco Rubio isn't running for anything right now, but that didn't stop him from spending more than $20,000 on a top national research firm to check out his own vulnerabilities. [...] "...Now press are digging into things like his family history and his student loans, while liberal Super PACs like American Bridge are doing oppo dumps. So of course we have to do our homework so we can the record straight," said the aide. "The fact that you have sources combing through our FEC report within hours of it being posted says all you need to say about why we are doing our own research." And indeed: The spending was brought to BuzzFeed's attention by American Bridge, a Democratic opposition research group.
AP: Romney Stock Trades Clash With Divestment Pledge
On February 2, 2012, the Associated Press reported:
During his presidential campaign in 2007, Republican candidate Mitt Romney promised that a trust overseeing his financial portfolio would shed any investments that conflicted with GOP positions toward Iran, China, stem cell research and other issues. But Romney's family trusts kept some of those stocks and repeatedly bought new investments in similar holdings as recently as 2010, when they were sold in advance of his latest White House campaign, a detailed review of Romney's financial records by The Associated Press shows. Recently disclosed 2010 tax returns for three family trust funds for Romney, his wife, Ann, and their adult children show scores of trades in such investments, worth more than $3 million when the holdings were all sold in 2010.
TPM: Romney Team Silent On Key Offshore Tax Avoidance Question
On February 1, 2012, Talking Points Memo reported:
Romney has disclosed a substantial individual retirement account (IRA) that, as the Wall Street Journal first noted, could have made offshore investments that circumvented an obscure U.S. tax called the Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT).
Boston Globe: Boston Lawyer Brad Malt In Crossfire Over Romney Investments
On January 30, 2012, the Boston Globe reported:
In 2007, as Romney prepared his first run for president, Malt sold stock in dozens of potentially controversial companies, including casino operators, tobacco growers, and firms with ties to Iran. Last year, after Romney pushed for tougher trade sanctions against China, Malt dumped a number of Chinese holdings. He recently shed a money market mutual fund that had invested in government-backed mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are blamed for exacerbating the housing bust.
POLITICO: Connie Mack Relishes Newt-Stalker Role
On January 29, 2012, POLITICO reported:
But Mack’s big splash into the presidential race has also earned him enhanced media scrutiny. After Mack’s critique of Gingrich for not talking about profits he made from Freddie Mac, The Miami Herald uncovered that the congressman had turned a profit off its cousin company, Fannie Mae.
Miami Herald: Freddie Mac Attack Boomerangs On Connie Mack
On January 27, 2012, the Miami Herald reported:
And, it turns out, Mack and his wife, California Rep. Mary Bono Mack, have turned a profit as well off Fannie Mae, a government-sponsored enterprise that, along with Freddie Mac, is blamed for stoking the mortgage crisis.
BuzzFeed: Romney Camp Keeps Bad News Out Of The Emails
On January 26, 2012, BuzzFeed reported:
For example, last Monday, during a press call with Tim Pawlenty, a Miami Herald reporter asked the campaign surrogate about Romney's investments in Freddie Mac. "The Democratic group American Bridge has pointed out that Mitt Romney invested in these federal government loan ventures as well, and therefore his hands aren't clean," reporter Marc Caputo said. "Can you respond to that?" Pawlenty punted on the question--saying that he'd "have to ask the campaign to follow up with you." But when the Romney press shop e-mailed out a transcript of the call later that day, the exchange was nowhere to be found.
MEMO: 12 Things We Could Learn From Previous Romney Tax Returns
ICYMI: With Mitt Romney still refusing to release his pre-2010 returns, we wanted to be sure that you saw our previous memo explaining why it is so important that Mitt Romney release them. Click through for the 12 questions that Mitt Romney needs to answer by releasing his previous years’ tax returns.
National Journal: FACT CHECK: Some Romney Housing Investments Were Not In Blind Trust
On January 26, 2012, National Journal reported:
Yet, according to Romney's financial disclosure forms, not all of his mutual funds were part of a blind trust. The Boston Globe reported in September that Romney owned between $250,001 and $500,000 in a mutual fund called the Government Obligation Fund that invests in debt notes of various government entities, including mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and he made between $15,001 and $50,000 in interest from those investments. Since those assets were considered a charitable trust rather than a blind trust, Romney could have reviewed them himself.
Boston Globe: Romney’s Returns Open A Window On The Wealthy
On January 25, 2012, the Boston Globe reported:
The returns also offered a window into the finances of the rich, complete with a Swiss bank account, investments in the Cayman Islands, and Social Security taxes for domestic help - all well within the law, Romney’s spokesman said yesterday. Romney declined to field questions from reporters about his returns.