Harry Reid Is Lying About Mitt Romney’s Tax Returns On Purpose

August 2, 2012 | Filed under Harry Reid,Mitt Romney,The Looney Left | Posted by

Why?

Well because it sells so well with the Daily Kos and Huffington Post crowd. Reid knows his charges are baseless, but he also knows that he’s unlikely to be proved wrong, so what the hell.

In an article about the Romney camp firing back at Reid, there’s this:

According to a source familiar with Reid’s thinking, the majority leader, a former boxer, considers himself a political street fighter now, willing to throw a punch and get hit back big time for a cause. In this case, the cause is making sure the topic of Romney’s tax returns remains in the news, and in the campaign narrative.

The source said Reid is “happy to mix it up and put this back in the news” and added the “finger waggers of the Acela corridor won’t dissuade him from speaking his mind.”

Reid, the source said, is unconcerned about the hits he is taking on making unsubstantiated claims, because the Democratic base is fired up. The source says they know that anecdotally. It’s not an accident that Reid said this to the Huffington Post, a friendly outlet, and did so as Romney was returning from his overseas trip.

“What happened when Romney returned? The first story he has to deal with is his tax returns,” the source said.

This from one of the leaders of the Democratic party. It just goes to show how desperate they are to take the focus off of President Obama. When Jon Stewart calls bullshit on you you know that you’re not fooling anyone.

Make no mistake, this is coming from the Obama camp.

« « Up is Down: Media Ignores Romney’s Successes in Overseas Trip
RE: Global Warming – Who is in denial? » »

Shortlink:

Posted by on August 2, 2012.
Filed under Harry Reid, Mitt Romney, The Looney Left.
Tagged with: • .
Doug Johnson is a news junkie and long time blog reader, turned author.

You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
  • 914

    Since Harry wont come clean, I would say slander and libel charges should be forthcoming and Harry can join Adam Harris in the loser dreamer jealous brothel..

  • jim_m

    Harry has actually crossed the line into slander, which is really hard to do with a public figure. He’s going to have to come up with a source or do some major back tracking. All the dems are doing is making Romney into a more sympathetic figure with all their lies.

    • 914

      I’ve been thinking landslide for about 2 years now.. But the more these losers open their ugly pie holes, I’m thinking more like ‘Mudslide!!’

    • Commander_Chico

      How do you know they’re lies? It’s quite possible that Romney didn’t pay taxes for years because of tax shelters and offshore trusts.

      Obviously, to make a “slander” case, you have to prove Reid’s statements aren’t true. By releasing the tax returns.

      • retired.military

        Why not have Reid prove his case? ISnt this the country of innocent until Proven guility? Oh wait, since it is a someone with an R by their name than that rule doesnt apply. ANd I dont even like Romney.

        I got a call from someone who went to school at Harvard with Obama. They said that he got a D in every class. Obama says this isnt true. He must release his academic records to prove it.

      • Sky__Captain

        And Chico channels Grumpy.
        Reid has made the outlandish statement in public and has to provide sources and/or proof, or this is slander. It is not Romney’s place to defend himself against every nutbag that makes statements like this.

        • Commander_Chico

          Look, every presidential nominee has released his tax returns for several years back. What is Romney hiding? It’s gotta be some kind of creepy offshore tax shelter.

          • Vagabond661

            Romney released his returns for 2010 & 2011. It’s on his website. It’s kinda hypocritical for people to make hay about tax returns when so little is known about the current president’s college life, including transcripts.

          • jim_m

            No. Not every candidate has released their returns for the ten years the idiot left are demanding. You just go on repeating the lies and maybe you will believe in them but the rest of us won’t.

          • Hugh_G

            Haley Barbour (sic), William Kristol et al, they are now the idiot left?

          • 914

            If I had billions? I’d sure as hell keep it away from the Oligarchy too!!

          • retired.military

            BULLSHIT. Prove it.

      • http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson

        Seems to me if the IRS had problems with Romney’s returns, they’re the ones who would have taken action.

        And, with the convoluted mess our tax code is in, it’s entirely probable that, through legal deductions and methods, Romney ended up paying no personal tax.

        Goes to show what you can do when you can afford good accountants… instead of TurboTax.

        And when the IRS themselves won’t guarantee the tax advice given over their help lines, it’s kind of hard to get heated up over this issue. I think it’s a class warfare tactic that’s backfiring, myself.

        • Commander_Chico

          Yes, it is entirely possible and legal that Romney has paid no taxes. It just looks like shit for those of us forking over 10-35% from our wages, so he’s weaseling out of telling us the truth.

          • jim_m

            What Reid is saying is not that he [paid no taxes, but that he evaded his taxes. One is not a felon if your tax bill is $0.

            You can lie about what the dems are claiming as much as you’d like. It is not going to change the fact that they are claiming that Romney broke the law.

          • Commander_Chico
          • jim_m

            A statement that a person has not paid any taxes IS a statement of evasion. If Romney’s legal obligation was zero and everything was perfectly legal then why is it an issue?

            Even Jon Stewart has ripped into Reid for this. Reid has no facts, he is only rumor mongering. And you Chico are no better than a birther.

          • retired.military

            PROOF??? Oh wait there is none. If there was Reid would have it in all the papers.

          • http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson

            At this point – I don’t really care. There’s stuff that keeps getting thrown up that I’m supposed to ‘care’ about – Is Romney a Felon? Did he pay his taxes? Was his grandpa a polygamist? Did he (Mitt, not his grandpa) strap a dog on top of his car? (In a car carrier, after the dog kept puking in the car?) (We already know that Tim Geithener didn’t pay HIS taxes and became Treasury Secretary – so that’s a pass for Mitt.) He wasn’t in the military! (Neither was Obama. So what?)

            Keep pulling up irrelevant garbage.

            I don’t care.

            Keep trying the class warfare crap – people are seeing it for what it is – a cheap political tactic.

            Bluntly, this election we’ve got a choice between an incumbent total disaster – and someone else.

            I’ll take the ‘someone else’ most likely to win. At present, that looks like Romney.

            There hasn’t been anything yet that makes me think he won’t be a better President than Obama. (I realize that’s setting the bar so low that worms could cross it, but that’s as may be.) He may be better. He may be worse. He’s got business experience, he’s got leadership experience, he’s bringing a hell of a lot more to the table than Obama did in ’08, that’s for sure.

            AND – he won’t be Obama.

          • Hank_M

            Well said.

          • retired.military

            HOW DO YOU KNOW This? You dont. YOu are simply making shit up without a shred of proof.

      • jim_m

        I think it is so very revealing that all of a sudden you have decided that conservatives must prove their innocence and that the dems do not need to prove their charges of guilt.

      • 914

        Oxy moron – the O2

  • Commander_Chico

    Romney could end this by releasing his tax returns, but obviously they have some damaging shit in them.

    The guy’s been running for president since 2005, and could not structure his finances to avoid sleazy tax shelters, Swiss bank accounts, and Cayman Island trusts even since then.

    He’s a real patriot: dodged the draft, doesn’t pay taxes, none of his kids ever served. A loathsome grabber.

    Again, even though y’all were ripping Romney as a weak untrustworthy RINO a couple months ago, you’ve all fallen into line.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ryan-Murphy/100001624276605 Ryan Murphy

      Obama could end this discussion by just releasing his academic transcripts. Obviously they have some damaging things in them …

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ryan-Murphy/100001624276605 Ryan Murphy

      For claiming to be a libertarian, the “tarian” part is obviously instead “al”

      • jim_m

        No. He’s trying to substitute “Liber” for the “Totali” in Totalitarian. Why else is he demanding that people be forced to prove their innocence rather than others have to prove their guilt?

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ryan-Murphy/100001624276605 Ryan Murphy

          Slight correction; anyone right of center has to prove his innocence. Anyone on the left is automatically innocent.

          • Hugh_G

            Ah yes, the favorite canard of the right. The victim card.

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ryan-Murphy/100001624276605 Ryan Murphy

            A lefty making this claim? THat is so laughable as to go all the way around in a circle and meet Banal at the other side. The party of Eternal VIctimhood criticizing someone else for ‘playing the victim card’?

        • Commander_Chico

          You said Reid is liable for slander. The person suing for slander has the burden of proof. Part of the burden of proof is proving the statements were false.

          Anyways, as JLawson pointed out, it’s entirely possible and legal that Romney paid no taxes. It just looks like shit to us wage slaves forking over 10-35% of our income.

          So, weasel that he is, Romney’s hiding that.

          • jim_m

            Not true. All that Romney has to prove is that the statements were made and that they were defamatory, not that they are false.

            Reid can claim the defense that they were true statements or that they were opinion statements. I doubt he could hold the latter in this case. The burden of the defense is showing that the claims are true. Romney does not have to prove falsity.

            Romney does not have to prove anything other than he was defamed by Reid’s remarks. A slander suit would force Reid to reveal his source or to show that Romney was not harmed by his statements or that his statements could reasonably be taken as opinion.

          • Commander_Chico

            This is not the UK. Falsity is a required element of proof of defamation in the USA.

          • jim_m

            Wrong again. Truth is an absolute defense against a slander or libel suit. It is not necessary to prove something false.

            The plaintiff only has to establish that something was said and that the statements damaged that person’s business or reputation.

            While it is true that in the UK truth is not a defense it is in the US. It is not, however, something that the plaintiff needs to establish. The plaintiff is required to demonstrate that the statement was made by whom they claim it was and that real damages were incurred. It is very difficult for a public person to demonstrate damages, but Romney may be able to.

            Note that in my link to the DCCC libel issue, the DCCC is not claiming that the plaintiff must prove their allegations false. To force the plaintiff to prove falsity would be to hold the plaintiff guilty until proven innocent. While I know that is how you want the system to work in the US and that this is how it will work if you get your way, it is not how it works currently.

          • Commander_Chico

            The burden is on the one claiming defamation to prove falsity. You know little.

            Restatement of Torts, 2nd:

            § 558. Elements Stated

            To create liability for defamation there must be:

            (a) a false and defamatory statement concerning another;

            (b) an unprivileged publication to a third party;

            (c) fault amounting at least to negligence on the part of the publisher [with respect to the act of publication]; and

            (d) either actionability of the statement irrespective of special harm or the existence of special harm caused by the publication.

            http://www.lclark.edu/live/files/7530-class-3-handout-info-privacy

            http://www.jud.ct.gov/ji/Civil/part3/3.11-1.htm

            http://www.mintz.com/media/upload/docs/dyn/publications/MCLE-Def.pdf

          • jim_m

            Libel law is constructed so that you cannot make wild accusations about someone in the hopes that you will force them to reveal potentially embarrassing facts in order to prove their innocence.

            Reid will have to show how he can have known that his information was credible and so will his source. If he cannot demonstrate that he has information he can claim that he was expressing opinion but he has not phrased his statements that way.

            Romney does not have to produce his tax returns in order to prove that Reid slandered him. Reid has made a claim that can only be true if 1) he has seen Romney’s returns (which would be illegal) 2) Romney has boasted of not paying any taxes (not likely) 3) someone working for Romney who has direct knowledge of Romney’s returns has told Reid about them (possible, but then more likely that they are then lying).

            Romney need only show that Reid has made a truth claim about which he has no knowledge. It won’t be hard to demonstrate that Reid made the claim with malice.

          • Hugh_G

            Again I ask, where and when did your law degree. Aren’t you a hospital orderly? Why so evasive?

          • jim_m

            I responded to Chico. I can;t help if you are too stupid to read the comment thread.

          • Hugh_G

            Sigh….for the 3rd time when and where did you get your law degree. Don’t you work in a hospital? As an orderly?

            Your as bad as Romney when it comes to ignoring an easy question.

          • jim_m

            I would but hospitals don’t employ “orderlies” anymore. I answered the question already, loser.

          • jim_m

            I would but hospitals don’t employ “orderlies” anymore. I answered the question already, loser.

          • jim_m

            Romney does not have to establish the falsity of the statements as long as he can show that Reid has no way of knowing the truth. Reid has claimed that he got his information from someone else. He will be required to reveal that information. Reid does not enjoy the privilege of a newspaper journalist, he will have to reveal his source and it is likely that his source is either nonexistent or some dirtbag dem with zero credibility (but I repeat myself).

            All this gets back to the fact that you are full of BS when you say that you are not supporting obama.

          • Commander_Chico

            What the heck, I’m showing you that a plaintiff has to prove falsity with multiple linked sources and you just dig in with your BS.

            Links to law or STFU.

          • jim_m

            I see where prior to 1986 the law was as I have stated, but that in 1986 the Supreme court changed that in a 5-4 decision. In the case of a public figure or a case of public concern (not necessarily in the case of a private citizen) the burden is on the plaintiff. The SCOTUS recognized that this ruling creates problems for the rights of the plaintiff.

            My apologies for being old enough to remember how things were before 1986.

          • Hugh_G

            A slander suit also might force Romney to release those rascally tax returns. Ergo no suit, no fulfilled wet dream for you the hater.

          • jim_m

            No. it won’t. The defendant cannot ask for the proof that their claims are true if they have none themselves, that would violate Romney’s 5th amendment rights. Reid must be able to show that he already know that those claims are true. If Romney can show that Reid had no knowledge of his taxes then Reid is guilty.

            If Reid has no direct knowledge then he can claim that he was mislead by someone else but that does not relieve him of all responsibility. He could also claim that he was expressing an opinion, but his statements are not all couched that way.

          • Hugh_G

            When did you get your law degree? I thought you were a hospital orderly or something like that.

          • jim_m

            Chico, your formulation would be to force Romney to prove his innocence. While that fits in with your leftist, totalitarian view of “justice” it is not the law. Romney has to prove that Reid said what he did and that Romney was harmed by the statements.

            In defense Reid must show any of the following: That no harm was done. That the statements were true or that Reid had reason to believe they were true. That the statements were only opinion.

            Romney does not really have to prove anything other than he was harmed by the statements. Truth is not a responsibility of the plaintiff in a slander or libel case, it is a mode of defense. Look it up.

          • http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson

            Reid looks like shit. Pelosi won’t release HER tax returns. And you know, it’s funny just how the Dems when they get to Congress seem to pull in a whole lot more money than the Republicans.

            http://legalinsurrection.com/2012/08/the-congressional-wealth-gap/

            “In 2010, the average net worth for a U.S. senator was $13,224,333. The average net worth for a Democratic senator was $19,383,524, compared to $7,054,258 for a Republican senator. That’s a difference of $12.3 million.”

            Let’s get all their tax returns. I’m sure that they’ll all comply, in the interests of ‘fairness’.

          • herddog505

            Oh, DWS and SanFranNan have already told us that IF they ran for president, why! they’d release all their tax returns first thing. But, since they aren’t running for president, they haven’t got to.

            It’s a wonderful thing to be able to write the rules.

          • SCSIwuzzy

            Makes you wonder how someone that has spent most of his adult life in politics became a millionaire, as Reid has done.

    • Conservachef

      Chico,

      At this point, with Reid claiming that “he knows someone who knows someone who said that they heard that someone told someone else that Romney didn’t pay any taxes, blah blah blah,” the burden of proof falls on Reid (I’m not getting into the burden of proof re: slander- just regarding Reid’s claims).

      If Reid says Romney didn’t pay his taxes, then it’s up to Harry Reid to prove it. He- seems to have trouble with that idea. Reid made the claim, so it’s up to him to man up and prove it. Otherwise he just sounds like a juvenile name-caller.

      As for why doesn’t Romney release his returns? Any of the following reasons would be sufficient- (1)He knows the left will pick it apart and distort every deduction, every credit, to make it sound bad, no matter how legal they might be. (2)The longer this draws out, the sillier the left looks- just like the Birthers. (3)He doesn’t have to.

      • herddog505

        Conservachef – He knows the left will pick [his tax records] apart and distort every deduction, every credit, to make it sound bad, no matter how legal they might be.

        Yep. Consider MiniTru’s reporting of his foreign trip: the hear them tell it, Romney’s foot was in his mouth from the moment he got on the plane until the moment he got back to the US. I can only imagine the field day they’d have with his returns. Perhaps they could do as they did with Sarah Palin’s e-mails and ask “volunteers” to look through them.

        • Conservachef

          herddog, I’d be surprised if they hadn’t already been “dumpster diving” to literally go through Romney’s trash.

    • SCSIwuzzy

      Is that why President Clinton never released any tax returns before 1992 or after 1999?

    • retired.military

      I have an acquatance that says that Obama didnt graduate from Harvard. I have no proof but hey Obama should prove that he did by releasing his transcripts,.

      Amazing how much of a fucking idiot you Obama drones are. And before you say I support Romney remember that I am voting for ABO this year. His name just happens to be Romney.

  • TomInCali

    How can you say all this about Romney’s tax returns, but say nothing of the “slander” about Obama’s birth certificate, college transcripts, etc.?

    • herddog505

      We have two cases of libs trying to “prove” a case without evidence:

      1. We have consistently been told about Barry that he’s some sort of genius: a law professors, erudite, intellectually curious, brilliant. However, there is no proof of any of this. Barry’s educational records are sealed. Nothing is proved.

      2. We are now told that Mittens is a tax dodger. Again, there is no proof offered. Where are the results of IRS audits? In the tax records he has released, where is the evidence that he has illegally underpaid his taxes? Again, there is no evidence and, again, nothing is proved.

      It’s quite a nice little scam the left is running, but I think that they are already finding that it won’t wash. It’s easy to make just about any accusation against somebody and claim that THEY have to prove that it isn’t true. Not only does this fly in the face of our legal tradition, it flies in the face of common sense.

      Or DOES Dingy have to prove that he doesn’t molest children?

      • http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson

        What I’ve seen of Obama makes me think he should have gone into drama, not politics. But then – he can’t remember his lines well.

      • jim_m

        Again, there is no proof offered.

        That’s what the dems want: Trials without evidence, convictions without proof of guilt. Nameless sources making allegations without evidence are what the dems believe should be sufficient to take away your freedoms. No right to face your accusers or see evidence against you in the new world of the dems. Have the wrong ideology, think the wrong things and go to jail.

        • TomInCali

          That’s what the dems want: Trials without evidence, convictions without proof of guilt. Nameless sources making allegations without evidence

          Once again, how the hell can you honestly say such things after what the right has been carrying on about regarding Obama’s birth certificate, college transcripts, etc.? Or are you just going to ignore the question like herddog did, and go on a rant about something else?

          • jim_m

            Are you freaking serious? Dingy Harry accuses Romney of committing a felony and you compare that to people demanding obama release his transcripts?

            Go sober up.

          • TomInCali

            It’s a felony to take advantage of tax laws and loopholes to reduce your tax burden to zero? That’s a new one. I think you’re the one who needs to put the bottle down.

    • 914

      Obamas ‘birth certificate and college transcripts’ never happened!

      Next question?

    • retired.military

      a. we have routinely dismissed the birthers.
      b. We have yet to see Obama’s college transcripts. When he releases them than maybe I will get interested in Romneys tax returns.

  • retired.military

    ”
    , the majority leader, a former boxer, considers himself a political street fighter now,”

    Gee what a tough guy. Once again the MSM comes through for the dems.

  • Hank_M

    The Other McCain has some interesting thoughts on this.

    “Whatever Harry Reid knows about Mitt Romney’s taxes, he obtained from Democrat
    Party sources who, in turn, got it via the leaking of this confidential
    information from IRS officials to individuals affiliated with the Obama
    campaign.

    Reid is lying — mischaracterizing his sources — to conceal the fact that
    the Obama campaign has illegally obtained Romney’s IRS forms.”

    Knowing Obama’s history of obtaining sealed records to destroy his opponents, this does seem plausible.

  • Hugh_G

    Can you believe it? I can’t? I’m shocked, I say shocked.

    Politicians lie?

  • jim_m

    The DCCC is already learning this lesson The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee issued a public apology Thursday afternoon to billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson for charging that the Republican mega donor was tied to the Chinese mob and a prostitution ring.

    It seems that the dems have adopted a campaign strategy of illegally defaming their opponents. Adelson has threatened a libel suit and the DCCC is desperate to make it go away. He has the means to make it stick and it could cost them tens of millions.

    • herddog505

      Let’s hope he does.

  • http://profiles.google.com/lossofgravity Loss OfGravity

    Vote for Ebenezer Romney in November,

    And there will be no Christmas pie by December!

    Mitt’s a Miser so he hides his Returns,

    Scrooge’s straitjacket he wears so I’ve learned!

    Conservatives didn’t want him from day one,

    God Bless us All. — Everyone!

  • 914

    “Harry Reid Is Lying About Mitt Romney’s Tax Returns On Purpose”

    He isn’t lying, He’s stretching his fallacy!!

  • Hugh_G

    Not mine, but right on:

    “[I]t’s a bit like saying that the current president is a secret Muslim socialist who lied about his U.S. birth and has a fake Social Security number and is secretly plotting to take away all privately owned guns if he’s reelected, either before or after he finishes the job of deliberately destroying American capitalism. It’s also a bit like saying that the previous Democratic president was a drug dealing serial murderer and rapist whose lesbian wife had her male lover killed when she wasn’t hanging sex toys on the White House Christmas tree.”

    • Vagabond661

      Correct me if I’m wrong but there is a difference. Revealing tax returns is optional but there are legal requirements to be President.

      • Hugh_G

        You’ve missed the point.

        • Vagabond661

          Well it was pretty dull.

          • Hugh_G

            No, it was just over your head. It’s called satire.

          • Vagabond661

            It wasn’t over my head. It just wasn’t very good or clever satire.

          • Hugh_G

            Clearly you’re just not sophisticated enough.

          • jim_m

            Nope. You just aren’t funny.

          • Hugh_G

            It’s not me who’s trying to be funny, it’s you wingnuts who just are.

            By the way, still waiting for that law school information.

          • jim_m

            I answered the question. Chico has not complained that I avoided him so obviously I gave a satisfactory answer.

          • Hugh_G

            Once again – god how many times am I going to say once again to you – what friggin law school did you graduate from? Where did you get the legal argument you think is so astute? Jesus man, man up and just answer the frigging question.

          • jim_m

            Once again I never claimed to be a lawyer.

          • Hugh_G

            So, all of those statements, said with so much certainty, were stolen from….????

          • Vagabond661

            Yeah I don’t get liberal humor. But the satire that Ann Coulter says cracks me up.

          • Vagabond661

            This is just Reid’s backhanded way of asking Romney “Have you stopped beating your wife?” which is a logical fallacy.
            As for your cut and paste of Steve M.s lament, it too is a logical fallacy, not satire. It’s called well here is the link: http://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/tu-quoque

          • Hugh_G

            God you’re dense. Neither Steve M nor I are defending Reid – he’s an idiot for doing what he’s doing. Just as those who make the allegations against President Obama which I quoted from Steve M.

            But if you don’t think it’s satire you are, as are most righties, devoid of humor.

          • Vagabond661

            Did you write “Inconceivable!” first then erased it because you were afraid you would come off as an arrogant, pompous ass?

          • Hugh_G

            Well, no. I’m not afraid of that. Just ask my wife.

    • jim_m

      So what you are saying is that people going on about Romney’s taxes are like the most extreme denizens of the birther fever swamp. Yeah, I’ll buy that.

      • Hugh_G

        You’re partially correct – which is a miracle by itself

        Conveniently you overlooked the rest of the memes – the mantra of the wingnuts such as you, in the past and the present

        • jim_m

          I never went in for birtherism, nor did I go for the “Bill Clinton is a mass murderer” thing and I can’t help it if Hillary comes off as an asexual harpy. So you are incorrect in your aspersions.

  • jim_m

    Meanwhile those Harry Reid Pederasty questions are starting to gain traction. Ace of Spades has the details on how Reid’s office finds the allegations “Cute”.