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Memo Pad

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The Olympic Bribery Scandal Looming Over Mitt Romney’s Likely Chief Of Staff

June 4th, 2012 8:52 pm Kyle Roerink

This article was written with Jillian Anthony

The man who implored Mitt Romney to leave Bain Capital and save the Olympics is now planning the GOP nominee’s potential presidency as a top personal adviser. But Mike Leavitt, recently named to head Romney’s transition team, may still be haunted by questions concerning his own role in the Olympic bribery scandal that brought them together more than a decade ago.

Back then, Leavitt was governor of Utah and at the center of the scandal threatening the 2002 Salt Lake City winter games and the Beehive State. “America needs you,” he recalled telling Romney, a fellow Mormon, in a telephone conversation when he called upon the leveraged buyout titan to “turnaround” the image of the Salt Lake City Olympics. (Turnaround ultimately became the title of Romney’s first book.)

When the bribes and other crimes surrounding Salt Lake’s bid for the games became public — and the Justice Department issued a multi-count felony indictment of bribery and racketeering charges against bid leaders Tom Welch and David Johnson — top Utah Republican legislators said they knew of gifts and scholarships given to International Olympic Committee members a year before the public found out about the scheme. But the governor claimed he knew nothing about those dubious payments.

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  • http://profile.yahoo.com/OIWHIIHWEWBKKLVU4FQS3XQQKE Todd

    You call this hit piece “journalism”? Maybe this and maybe that and he said is all there is here. Where were you, Kyle, when reverend Wright was introduced to us with his “God Damn America”
    and “America’s chickens have come home to roost”? No, these were not taken out of context. I have heard the entire sermons those both come from, and the rest of those sermons are more disturbing than just those lines. But, neither you nor any of your supposed journalist collaegues wrote one word about Barack Hussein Obama’s pastor and mentor of 20 years. You failed to investigate Obama’s green jobs czar Van Jones, a self proclaimed communist, or his safe school czar a gay pedophile. You are a joke.

    • http://profile.yahoo.com/YPI4NVMAWGSK43SFUAL6OUISGA Bunny

      Our President doesn’t attend that church anymore . Just like I do not attend the Catholic Church anymore. I am tired of this church putting women down,so I left !!!

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_UNRSOQB7TEU2XBPPAZ7GZPVNXM EdC

      The joke will be on you if The Romney people get in. it will as- kissing time in the white house then.

    • ExPAVIC

      GET IT STRAIGHT

      Wright and Ayers were not referring to America in general only that part controlled by the rich, old, elitist, sexist, overweight, bigoted white guys (or the American Taliban Republicans) who NO LONGER control this country. Check in on November 7th and I will remind you.

  • sleeprn01

    Todd, Do you get your news from Fox or the National Inquirer??

  • William Deutschlander

    To those of you who might be shocked, this is how the UBER WEALTHY NETWORK functions in the 2000′s, with impunity.

    There no longer exists JOURNALISTS so this is no longer REPORTED!

    Todays reporters express their opinion or the opinion they are instructed to express!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SPDCPNVXR7YJJ36SSEYVX34G64 ayaya

    We in Massachussetts know Romney has nothing good to offer than protect the rich and energize the rich to exploit the poor the more. What is happening in Wisconsin is nothing compared to what will happen in America should Romney become president. See where Romney and his family left Detroit Michigan after raking the treasury there and run to Massachussetts where Romney erased and deleted records after his governorship. I think that God will not let Romney be president because God loves America more than to let America into the hands of slippery corporate raiders, offshore financial pirates, and capitalist vampires who suck the poor to get richer.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/RGOUPZ3JYNMPBVOHLZRCRVRD6Q ivory69690

    he was hoping he could take a page out of ropmney,s book and make some money . but was hopeng the news it wouldnt get out .

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1453201621 Shane Lee

    “I don’t think there was any question that he knew what was going on,” said Mel Brown, a former Utah House Speaker

    • ExPAVIC

      So typical of the American Taliban Republicans who think they are the only ones with brains.

  • pa484

    “I am a gentleman, I live by robbing the poor.”
    Gearge Bernard Shaw

  • ObozoMustGo

    Distractions….. Distractions…..

    This is all just nonsense to make us forget about what a failure Obozo really is. He has had one considerable social success, though…. like Newt called him: The Food Stamp President.

    Now we have proof. Here it is…

    Have a nice day! :-)

    • ExPAVIC

      Oh you don’t want to wait for the debates where the dark kid kicks the old white guy’s butt for him?

      How American Taliban Republican of you.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_D5HPWVIJUUCDCQIWUV636LNM4A Elsa

    The only thing Romney has ever rescued is money for his own pocket, he does not understand what it means to truely live on budget or what it is like to be sick and have no health insurance. He would make a horrible President, worse than Bush, let us hope that never happens. Save the Country, vote and make sure you vote for anyone but Romney.

  • ExPAVIC

    ROMNEY EXPERTISE

    Save the Olympics?

    Like fun, it was save Leavitt’s butt after the good ole Mormon gang of thieves scrapped so much off the top there wasn’t enough left to complete the necessary projects.

    So Mittens runs off the Washington for another $1.3 billion so some of his “brothers” don’t go to jail, that is up until now.

    Maybe Mitts will pray for him or have the Mormon Tabernacle Choir do a benefit concert. Let’s see, “Jingle Bells” for Leavitt Defense Fund.

    And Romney wants to be president. Didn’t we have enought of this stuff under George W. Bush, thanks to his brother Jeb?

  • IdaBill

    It’s a sad day in America when it all comes out about the Mormon Mafia with Romney being the head hit man! Our prayers should be that he will never make it to the White House no matter how much money is being spent to buy America!

    For America to remain the “land of the free, home of the brave” a place where one can work hard and pull themselves up, let’s work hard to keep President Obama in place and help get some elected officials who will work with him to move America FORWARD!

  • widollar

    Mitt Romney is not really suited for the role of Commander in Chief. He has no good plans to move America forward. Cutting taxes for himself and his rich pals is not a strategy for helping the middle class. But he could care less about the middle class, he just wants to fly with Ann in Air Force One all over the globe grandstanding! If America allows this fake to capture the oval office then its their own fault when he continues with the Bush/Cheney playbook of destruction of the middle class. We shall see won’t we?