Mitt Romney Left Bain Capital in February 1999

It got pretty ugly yesterday while I was out in Beverly Hills.

The Obama campaign --- and practically the entire radical left commentariat --- took after Mitt Romney, with even top Obama spokewoman Stephanie Cutter calling the former Massachusetts governor a "felon."

The Wall Street Journal had this background last night, "Timing of Departure From Bain Capital Emerges as Point of Dispute" (via Google):

A controversy over Mitt Romney's ties to Bain Capital erupted anew Thursday, with news stories suggesting the Republican presidential candidate continued to play a management role at the private-equity firm well after he has said he had stepped down.

But federal officials said the apparent discrepancy—stemming from differences between campaign financial disclosures and regulatory documents—wasn't unusual. A top shareholder might be listed on Securities and Exchange Commission forms as an executive even if he has no role in day-to-day management, said the officials, who asked not to be named because they didn't want to be drawn into a political battle.

Harvey Pitt, a former SEC chairman, said agency guidelines required Bain Capital to list Mr. Romney as executive at that time because Mr. Romney still owned controlling shares. "He had to be shown on those filings until his ownership of Bain shares was severed," said Mr. Pitt, a Republican who headed the SEC from 2001 to 2003 and is not affiliated with the Romney campaign.

People close to Mr. Romney said the seeming contradictions between financial disclosures and SEC reports result from a misinterpretation of Mr. Romney's departure terms from Bain Capital. He took a leave of absence from the investment firm in 1999 to run the struggling Salt Lake City 2002 Olympics, and didn't sign his retirement contract until May 2001, when it became apparent he wouldn't return to the company, these people said.

Mr. Romney has stated in federal election disclosure reports that he left Bain Capital in February 1999. Several documents Bain Capital filed with the SEC list him as president, chairman or chief executive for Bain Capital-related entities through January 2002. A Boston Globe story Thursday cited those SEC reports, as did earlier stories by Mother Jones and the Talking Points Memo website.

The Romney campaign and Bain Capital said Thursday that the candidate made no management or investment decisions for the firm after February 1999. "Due to the sudden nature of Mr. Romney's departure, he remained the sole stockholder for a time while formal ownership was being documented and transferred to the group of partners who took over management of the firm in 1999. Accordingly, Mr. Romney was reported in various capacities on SEC filings during this period," Bain Capital said in a statement Thursday.

And here's the headline at Business Week, "Romney Kept Bain Ownership After Leaving in '99." And also at Fortune, "Documents: Romney didn't manage Bain funds" (via Memeorandum).

Team Romney demanded an apology, seen at Fox News, "Mitt Wants Apology for 'Felony' Claim." And see Weasel Zippers, "Romney Campaign Demands Apology From Obama Over “Felon” Comments — Update: Obama Camp Says They Will Not Apologize…"

And FWIW, here's the report at the New York Times, "Campaigns Trade Salvos Over a Romney Role at Bain After 1999."

We'll see how it goes today. I don't think Romney can afford to take the high ground; this is such an intense attack that the response can't be, er, outsourced to subordinates. Romney's got to go toe to toe with Obama on this. It's the only way.

More later.