Nancy Pelosi: 'It Is A Fact' That Somebody Told Harry Reid About Romney Not Paying Taxes

[kpete]

Source: Huffington Post

Nancy Pelosi: 'It Is A Fact' That Somebody Told Harry Reid About Romney Not Paying Taxes

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) fired back at Republicans accusing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) of lying about a Bain Capital investor telling him that Mitt Romney hadn't paid taxes in 10 years. They don’t know what they're talking about, Pelosi says.

"Harry Reid made a statement that is true. Somebody told him. It is a fact," Pelosi told The Huffington Post in a Sunday interview. "Whether he did or not can easily be disposed of: Mitt Romney can release his tax returns and show whether he paid taxes."

Both Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus came out swinging against Reid on Sunday over his claims about Romney potentially not paying taxes. Asked to respond to Priebus calling Reid "a dirty liar" over the situation, Pelosi initially responded, "Who?" She went on to say that Priebus doesn't know what he's talking about since he wasn't part of Reid's conversations.

"Well he doesn't know that," Pelosi said. "Harry Reid is a person who is, as we know, A, is a fighter, B, he wouldn't say this unless it was true that somebody told him that."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/06/nancy-pelosi-harry-reid-romney-taxes_n_1746894.html

[russspeakeasy]

1. IMO.. Harry does not need defenders. Just keep repeating it Harry.

You have earned my respect, don't "unearn" it by backing off.

[grasswire]

3. actually, it's very clever to have surrogates keeping it in the news

Here's another whole day of "didn't pay taxes" news!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. And President Obama's hands are still clean of any smut.

This is how you use surrogates in a political campaign. This entire maneuver has been a thing of beauty to behold.

[nichomachus]

2. What she should have said was

"And Harry is a Mormon. Mormons don't lie." Then Mitt would have to answer, "Oh yes we do."

[bucolic_frolic]

8. My Goodness, the Birther Legitimacy Question in Reverse

That is what we have here. A dispute about the truth between two Mormons.

Harry Reid is on safe ground, as Nancy Pelosi says. Someone told him.

Now the someone who told him ... if Mitt were to release and be proven to be
a bona fide American taxpayer, that person would be on the hot seat.

But if Mitt won't release, or releases and is proven to be a bona fide American
Tax Dodger, then even the Mormons won't vote in number for Mitt.

Utah could deliver the deciding numbers!

But it's all about political legitimacy, and after four years of Birtherism,
questioning MittWitt's tax returns is fair game, and turnabout is fair play.

And Dems are doing this slowly, not in a panic, letting it drift.

IT IS SOOOOOOOooooooooo SWEET.

[Bandit]

15. Except Obama released his Birth Certificate before he became President

The birthers don't believe what it says and call it a fake.. Mitt has not released the returns that would indicate whether he paid taxes or not, and no one is calling the ones he has released a fake nor will they call any other returns he may release fake either...There is a HUGE difference between birther mentality and Americans wanting to learn about Mitt.

[blackspade]

19. False equivalency.

There is no comparison between the two.

[1StrongBlackMan]

4. On This Week with George S ...

George Will attempted to cast the "Bain Investor told Reid" thing as silly by saying:

{Something to the effect of} "So according to that logic because I own a couple shares in MicroSoft, I should be competent to speak on Bill Gates' tax returns? That's absurd!"

And I practically screamed at the TV machine:

"Well, you would be competent to speak to Bill Gates' tax filing, if Gates was in the business of selling tax avoidance schemes, as Bain was, and if the salesman, i.e., romney, told you as much in his sales pitch."

[leveymg]

5. If leak was from within IRS, a violation of the Privacy Act. Probably McCain's gang was the source.

Privacy Act violation would apply to an agency official who released them without authorization, not to Harry or Nancy. Probably was someone in McCain's gang.

This just gets better and better.

[antigop]

6. What motivation would someone from McCain's gang have?

If it was someone in McCain's gang, why would they do this? Some kind of personal vendetta against Romney? What?

[leveymg]

7. The McCain opposition brief was released recently.

I think the tax returns were in there. Lots of bad blood between those crews, who cares exactly why?

[Myrina]

9. Would it matter?

Who cares why. We all know they're soul-less bastards who would sell their own grandmother to get what they want. If one (or more) of 'em doesn't like Mittens for whatever reason & is willing to leak some tasty tidbits, good on 'em!

[patrice]

17. Personal? Nope. It's ALL about business. Review what corporate raiding is and tell us how it could

NOT produce many enemies, not just amongst the working classes, but up there in the, say, top 5 or so %.

[elleng]

25. You know this how?

You saying that, leading up to '08 while mccain was vetting rmoney, someone at IRS told mccain's gang, and they NOW have told Reid?
Interesting. This suspicion, or you have more?

[leveymg]

28. No. We're told RMoney released his returns to McCain's VP vetters, and was passed over. That's what

Last edited Mon Aug 6, 2012, 07:10 PM - Edit history (1)

the story is anyway. http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/which-republicans-are-calling-on-romney-to-release-his-tax-returns--20120717 It appears that someone among the McCain gang recently turned around and told someone (who may have told Reid) that there were no taxes paid for ten years.

Dan Rather fell for a ruse rather like this. I'd be very skeptical unless I had an inside line to the IRS and could compare that info with the originals - but, I don't think anyone in the Agency is going to do that because its illegal and not smart politics (particularly if you get caught). So let it bubble. RMoney is going to get his ass kicked in Nov. big time, anyway. Why take chances?

[elleng]

30. Right, but you said

'If leak was from IRS,...' while there's no suggesion it was. McCain's group? Could be.

Dan Rather fell for a ruse?

[leveymg]

33. The only way to confirm authenticity is to compare any copy with the IRS originals

Unless Mitt turns over his returns (or someone at Treasury does so), you're stuck with second or third-hand information from some dubious sources.

Yes, Dan's Producer got stuck with documents that couldn't be conclusively authenticated, even if they were a copy of the real thing.

[elleng]

35. That was no ruse, for Rather;

A ruse is a trick or deception

W + Texans etc WOULD not authenticate.

[leveymg]

36. Rather, aside, you see my point about the authentication problem?

A trick is a ruse is getting snookered or whatever regionalism you want to call it.

The problem with the whole Rathergate thing was CBS. The network suits wanted rid of Rather and to downsize and change the orientation of the entire News Division. The network had just been taken over by Sumner Redstone, owner of Viacom, who ended up downsizing CBS News and publicly backing Bush.

When challenges to the authenticity if the TANG documents was first heard, the CBS suits went along with Pajama Media and agreed that the issue was whether or not these were xerox copies of Shrub's file. Anything else, Redstone's network suits agreed, was proof that Rather was unfairly accusing Bush, proving Rather was a "librul-biased" mainstream media who had to be sacked to keep CBS' hands clean.

But, that's not the way it was or should have been handled. The real story was Karl Rove's sanitization of Bush's military records and the effort to keep the media (as it still was back then) off the story. Why weren't Bush's records where they were supposed to be, and how did these reproductions (or whatever they were) get put into the hands of CBS producers? That was the real story, that if CBS had simply stuck to and focused on, would have likely revealed Bush for what he was -- a flake and a fraud -- and spared the damn country everything that followed.

[JDPriestly]

45. May have released some returns as a part of one of the leveraged buyouts of

some company. One of many possibilities.

[lanlady]

31. except that--

--Reid said it was a Bain investor who told him. I don't believe it came from McCain's group.

I'm guessing it was a fellow upstanding Mormon who happens to oppose Romney.

[leveymg]

37. Maybe, but please post a link to that. Here's the link to the McCain's staff as source story:

Here's the source and the story about it originating with the McCain gang: http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/which-republicans-are-calling-on-romney-to-release-his-tax-returns--20120717

On July 13, Talking Points Memo's Brian Beutler suggested Steve Schmidt, who managed John McCain's 2008 campaign, which vetted

Romney and others as potential running mates and eventually picked Sarah Palin. Three days later, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell asked Schmidt what was in the files, but alas, Schmidt didn't know. "I never saw the tax returns," Schmidt said. "They would have been seen by A.B. Culvahouse and Rick Davis, who ran the vetting operation for Sen. McCain in that campaign."

[global1]

11. Why Won't Any Of These MSM Commentators Ask The Question Of These Repug Shills That Say Reid Is....

lying?

"Sir (and I use this term loosely for these Repugs) - if you say Senator Reid is lying - how do you know - have you seen Rmoney's tax returns?"

Seems to me that this would be a good way to shut them up. If they haven't seen Rmoney's tax returns - then the follow up is "Well Sir - then how could you say Sen Reid is lying?"

If they have seen his returns - then the follow-up is "Well if you are entitled to see Rmoney's tax returns - shouldn't the American People be afforded the same?"

For God's sake - you so-called journalists - do your job.

[goclark]

13. Love it! Love it!

Ask them how do YOU know that Reid is lying ~

[Bluerthanblue]

12. Nancy's right- Romney owes Harry an apology- so does Priebus,

but I wouldn't hold my breath.

[patrice]

14. Bain's chickens are coming home to roost and Harry Reid knows their names!!!! Yyyeee!! Hhaaaaaawwww!

[amerciti001]

16. Yeah Harry, keep it coming...

Don't let up for a moment and while you are at it , also let everyone be aware that you said that Mitt rMoney is worth more than a couple of hundred-million dollars- more like a few -billion dollars.

[Quantess]

18. The drama never ends!

[Uncle Joe]

20. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[Beacool]

21. More smoke and mirrors from both sides.

Rome is burning while both parties dither. Who gives a crap about tax returns, dogs on car roofs, birth certificates, college records and all the other distractions that each side is throwing at each other?

So someone told Reid that Romney didn't pay any taxes for the last 10 years and he announces it on the Senate floor? Zero proof, zero accountability, just hearsay.

God help us, I'm sooooo fed up with both parties.

[emulatorloo]

26. "Leave poor Romney alone!1"

Your concern for poor abused Romney is noted. As well as your false equivalencies between the Democratic and Republican Party.

[longship]

32. Concern noted

.

[patrice]

34. I don't understand why it matters how fed up anyone is unless they are doing something that stands

a chance of succeeding at actually changing anything and the probabilities are that 3rd party is only insurance that whatever change might be possible at this point would have to struggle against even greater oppression than our current dysfunctionality perpetrates.

It could be that some people are fed up, because they have limited their definitions of what is possible to pre-defined assumptions and politically correct rhetoric. Perhaps they should think about how being fed up doesn't necessarily mean that one is right about everything.

[DonCoquixote]

41. Because

like it or not, Taxes are an issue too, because the Rich are saying "tax unfairness" when they use their policy to ensure the debt never gets paid, not any poor fed.

Granted, Obama needs to focus on people Bain fired, because, unlike Clinton, we realize that Joe Sixpack can see themselves in the faces of those fired so that Mitt can stash more money in The Caymans.

[Beacool]

42. Since I'm no big fan of our candidate and even less of their candidate,

I can be more objective about both sides.

So far I see a lot of mud being thrown around while not much is being said about concrete plans to solve our economic woes. It's all about power, not about really helping those in need. At least, that's how I see it.

BTW, what do you mean unlike Clinton? If anyone could relate to "Joe Sixpack" it's precisely Bill Clinton.

[DonCoquixote]

43. I suggest you look up the "romney hood"

reference on the site, where he focuses on the fact that these people want to keep taxes low, which will make sure we cannot solve any problems. As long as the right tries to keep taxes on the rich low, there will be no money to do the sort of things Clinton did when the taxes on the rich were higher.

And while Clinton may be related to Joe six pack once, his defense of Bain really dampens that. He is the one that called Romney a good businessman.

[Beacool]

47. Well, he was just telling the truth.

Romney was a good businessman. He made a lot of money for the company. Most company CEOs don't give a crap about their employees. I work for a Fortune 100 and our quite famous former CEO used to say that employees were expendable. Technically he was correct since everybody is expandable, but IMO employees are what made the company a success. Now we got another CEO who was in semi retirement when they offered him enough money to make it worth his while to come and screw our lives. At the time he retired from his previous CEO job, he had spearheaded the outsourcing of 10,000 jobs (that company has never been the same). Currently that SOB has hired an Indian outfit who has sent consultants out to our area (the NY Metro area) to see how many jobs can be done elsewhere in the country or overseas. Our wonderful CEO doesn't care for this part of the country, and although we are the home office, he wants to decentralize it. So the Indian vultures walk around in groups of two or three talking among themselves in some dialect (one of my coworkers is Indian and was able to identify which dialect they spoke). All the while interviewing people from various departments and being pretty nasty about it too. Ain't life grand for the American worker right now?

[DonCoquixote]

54. In othjer words

Your company is using the very strategies of outsourcing, deception, and CEO overcompensation that was pioneered by Bain Capital, made my one Mitt Romney. Bill said that was good business, even though India wins the jobs.

[Beacool]

56. What Bill said was that Romney was a good business man, which he was.

He never said that Romney's decisions were good for the employees. There's a big difference.

[DonCoquixote]

58. but he WAS trying

to say we should not focus on Bain, when Mitt is running ON HIS CEO credentials, not even his Gubernatorial days. Also, considering that said business made profit only because the banks bailed him out, which in turn made us bail the banks out, it is relevant.

I truly admire Bill, and yes, in 2016, I fully expect to vote for Hillary, especially if the Dems try to run an idiot like Rahm in. However, the fact is, Clinton is way too far to the right to do what is needed, and sadly, Obama, even though we voted for him to be to Clinton's left, has fallen towards what was falsely called the center.

[JDPriestly]

48. Romney is running on the premise that his business acumen

would make him a good president. Let him prove it.

Let us see his tax returns.

He couldn't borrow money from a bank without showing his tax returns. Neither could you nor I. He needs to release all of his tax returns for say as far back as Obama has released his.

[emilyg]

51. I'm fed up, too. Romney's

returns will not put food on our table. Unemployment is high. Such distractions.

[Beacool]

55. That's what I mean.

They are all distractions. I would like both parties to lay out concrete plans to help the economy in realistic and feasible ways, not just talking points to be used to attack the other side.

Then voters could clearly make a distinction. So far, I mainly hear a lot of dirt about both sides and not much more.

[aquart]

53. Which really should tell you that Reid's info is ironclad.

Man doesn't do reckless.

[Liberalynn]

22. Well Said Nancy

[Gormy Cuss]

23. It's a fact that someone told Reid that.

That's vague with intent, no doubt. "Somebody" could even have been Pelosi. Unless and until the "somebody" is named this charge has no teeth.

That said, it's Dems using a GOP strategy effectively against a GOPer and that makes me smile.

[Historic NY]

24. +1

Did somebody hand over the evidence...humm.

[leveymg]

38. That's right, let 'em stew in their juices. Turn up the heat, even.

But, don't get too wedded to this story without absolute certain proof that the returns indeed show that RMoney paid no taxes all those years.

[JDPriestly]

49. Except that Reid is too clever as a politician to make such a claim

such a risky claim without evidence.

The downside for him would be too great. The upside not nearly great enough.

It wasn't a mistake. Reid has stuck by his statement.

There is something here. Where there is smoke, there is fire. Especially when Reid is involved.

[randome]

27. I think of the Kids In The Hall skit: "It's a fact!"

[midnight]

29. Priebus gave Walker the Wis. Gov. mansion and turn Wis. red... So KKKarl put him in charge, and

now he "magically" knows Romney payed his taxes... He is powerful, and I'm wondering if he is powerful enough to prove his knowledge and show us the taxes?

[slackmaster]

39. I believe her

[underpants]

40. Come on Mitt-bots and Fox News ATTACK Nancy...do it!! take the bait

You know you want to and how does it look to women? to fair minded people? to gentlemen?

It looks like you are attacking a woman.





I love this.

[IndyJones]

44. Can someone please explain this to me:

How would someone at Bain Capital know whether or not Romney had or had not paid his taxes in any years? Does a Bain Capital employee prepare Romney's returns?

Didn't Romney already release some returns that covered a couple of the last 10 years and didn't the returns show he did pay taxes on those years?

Or is the Bain employee stating that Romney has Bain Capital earnings that Bain is not sending a K-1 or 1099 to Romney to show those earnings?

If "people know" Romney is not paying taxes on his earnings and they can prove it, then has the IRS been called in to investigate?

I'm not really understanding what is meant when Reid states that Romney hasn't paid taxes in 10 years. No taxes at all or is he somehow not reporting income? Is someone colluding with him to hide income?

[leveymg]

46. I deduce that "paying no taxes" means his investments were structured so he owed no net U.S. taxes.

There are any number of devices that legally allow investments to be structured so that while there is a large gain in long-term valuations of holdings, profits are deferred. Earnings are reinvested, or rolled back into the venture so there is little or no taxable immediate income to the owner. They also enjoy huge write-offs on things like show horses and real estate deals that appear to lose money, but are assets that really keep value and can be used as collateral for other investments. If the investor is wealthy enough, and has good tax advice, there is no need to realize capital gains (or pay taxes) for many years, while his net wealth continues to grow.

The wealthy really are different from you and I, to paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald.

[IndyJones]

50. As a CPA, I'm aware of legal loopholes. Is he the individual equivalent of GE Capital?

Just wondering if the speculation is that what he did was legal or illegal?

[emilyg]

52. imo - he's too smart to

do something illegal. His accountants would not let him.

[graegoyle]

57. It's not whether he is too smart...

...but whether he is too greedy to do something illegal. I'm sure morality has no import to him; he has his own kind of morality, anyway (not a compliment).