Mitt Romney's Lies

Always tell the truth; it will amaze your friends and confound your enemies. ~ Mark Twain

It is a crime to make knowingly false filings to the SEC (This guy faces ten years in prison for doing just that). Did Mitt Romney committed a felony when he informed the SEC between 1999 and 2001 that he was "sole stockholder, chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and president" of Bain Capital?

Or, did Mitt Romney commit perjury in 2011 when he filed his Public Financial Disclosure Report claiming he "retired from Bain Capital on February 11, 1999?" Both statements cannot be true.

Additional evidence seems to indicate that the SEC filings may have been true while the 2011 filing was the lie. In 2003, Romney filed a Massachusetts financial disclosure form stating that he owned 100% of Bain Capital and had drawn a salary in excess of $100,000 for the calendar year 2002. (see also)

Why would Romney lie? The truth, that he was double dipping and drawing salary from and working hard for Bain Capital when he was claiming to be busy with the Utah Olympics, would tend to make him look sleazy. And his later years with Bain were filled with several embarrassingly evil investment decisions. Romney decided it was better to file false documents than be truthful.

Lying for the Lord
Also, there is a cultural bias towards lying among high ranking Mormons. It is an article of the faith that telling falsehoods to promote or protect the church and its leaders is a Godly enterprise. Basically, the Ninth Commandment is for suckers and not God's Chosen.

Mitt Romney believes, probably correctly, that his election to the Presidency would be the greatest single event in the history of the Mormon Church since Brigham Young founded Salt Lake City. As President, Romney would be a great apostle for his One True Religion. Any lie told to advance that goal would certainly be blessed by God.

And, of course, Mitt Romney is a politician and they lie more frequently than they breath.