Rumors swirling around the web that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has somehow broke the law with his off shore bank accounts refuse to die. And when CNN failed to question the author of the Romney hit piece during an interview, they became guilty of spreading the same lies about Romney.
Despite no evidence of wrongdoing on Romney’s part, the perception that he is being less than honest about his wealth is still out there, thanks to a questionable hit piece written by Nicholas Shaxson, a British, pro- Occupy Wall Street writer for Vanity Fair magazine.
The article was also the basis of a recent attack against Romney by President Barack Obama’s campaign. Although Romney has not broken the law, the media has contributed to the idea that he has not been forthcoming about his personal finances because one big part of the story is always omitted:
Romney has already disclosed all of the financial information requirements he needs to in order to run for office, despite the perception he has not.
Vanity Fair, CNN, Politico, and The Washington Post have all been guilty of purposely not including this detail.
According to Breitbart.com, Shaxson was able to get away with the claim that Romney has violated U.S. tax laws—while admitting there is no evidence to suggest it.
“My article decided to explore, is this actually true that he has broken no laws, paid all the taxes he owes and no more? In fact, the answer to that question is not completely straightforward,” Shaxson told CNN.
“In tax law and in other laws there is generally a gray area between the legal and the illegal, tax avoidance and tax evasion, and there’s quite a big gray area and financial players, such as Mitt Romney, have routinely strolled into this gray area.”
CNN failed to question Shaxson on these claims and failed to highlight that Romney has complied with releasing all pertinent financial information, making them as guilty in spreading the falsities as Shaxson.
