Wayne Barrett: Romney Handed Out Olympic Contracts, Violated His Own Ethics Rules

Wayne Barrett: Romney Handed Out Olympic Contracts, Violated His Own Ethics Rules

Wayne Barrett: Romney Handed Out Olympic Contracts, Violated His Own Ethics Rules

How Mitt used his business relationships during the Salt Lake City Summer Olympics in 2002 may offer an insight into a Romney presidency.

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Not quieted in the slightest by his flurry of gaffes in London, the Romney campaign continues to tout Mitt’s management record at the Salt Lake City Summer Olympics in 2002. What is left out of the clamor on both sides, however, is how good the presumed GOP candidate was to his friends in the early aughts.

Nation Institute Fellow Wayne Barrett spoke with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! Tuesday morning about how Romney handed out key Olympic contracts to close friends—among them Kem Gardner, who got a $4.7 million tax break for plaza construction—without ever disclosing the nature of the relationships, in direct violation of his own anti-corruption rules.

—Zoë Schlanger

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