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Manchester, N.H. -- Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said in New Hampshire on Friday that he "followed the law" when disposing of documents as he left office as governor of Massachusetts in 2007.
Brian Snyder/Reuters
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks Friday at the Devine Millimet-Manchester Chamber of Commerce Forum in Manchester, N.H.
Following a campaign stop at a lunch sponsored by the New Hampshire Union Leader and Salvation Army, Romney responded to the Boston Globe story that said his staff wiped its server clean and purchased the existing hard drives from the office to prevent access to his administration's records when he departed. Walking to his vehicle today, Romney told the CBS Boston affiliate WBZ said his aides "all followed the law exactly as it is written."
Romney also said his aides "actually put 700 boxes of information in the archives that wasn't even required."
Throughout his day of campaigning, Romney refused to elaborate on the exact reason or motivations behind his administration's actions, despite many opportunities to address the situation. When Romney departed his second campaign stop -- a town hall meeting in Manchester Friday afternoon -- he declined to respond to repeated questions from NBC News and other news outlets and took no questions.
Romney continues campaigning Saturday with a town hall-style event in Peterborough.
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Yeah Right!
Has anyone bothered to follow up on Willard's statement to find our whether or not he's telling the TRUTH for a change?
I mean, don't we all buy our computer hard drives when we leave a job! *wink wink*
Especially when it's a GOVERNMENT job?
Honestly I do not know what the law is, but I am skeptical that it stipulates that documents of any kind are to be destroyed, much less at the personal expense of the exiting Governor. It just don't seem right to me, does it sound right to you?
Not a chance Forrest - as a matter of fact it stinks worse than a week old anchovy pizza left out in the AZ sun @ high noon!
PU that is stinky.
Why did he feel the need to destroy the records of his administration? That leads to speculation what did he have to hide? Never heard any state government that would allow this happen. Somethings is rotten in Denmark!
selling the hard drives is not the issue here what is the issues is he destroyed those file before they could be archived! there is a Law that states all government files MUST be archived before the term in office is finished this includes all governing officials including but not limited to mayor, governor and all members of both state house and congress
Hey Mittens! How about letting us see who your donors are? Or your tax returns? I am waiting.......................
considering you havent posted your name and address, how is romney going to send you the info?
american - phinephancy use of the word "us" should imply clearly that "everyone is entitled to this info. Please read posts slowly to get the full meaning. You may wish to brush-up on your remedial reading and comprehension skills, it would be time well spent. No, need to thank me.
Willard also said the other day that he was just following what prior Administrations had done when they left the Governor's office here in MA. Clean sweep.
Well, guess what? Our former governors were asked point blank if they had done what Romney had done and they answered - no. One former governor even said that it never crossed their minds to get rid of their record.
So once again Mitt is lying. He is NOT a flip flopper. He is a liar. And a coward. But this is what you get when you start electing Wall Streeters.
You get lies. You get con jobs.
I guess they are counting con jobs as created jobs, right?
So pat, I seem to recall that you work for a lawyer. Why not just post the Mass law that romney was referring to when it comes to documents generated by outgoing politicians. Shouldn't be too hard for your boss to head you in the right direction.
Right, let's see the written letter of the law from Massachucetts. In fact, let's review all of their laws just to make sure there isn't a grand conspiracy going on here.
I'll get right on it. LOL
So, he flip-flops and destroys evidence of it.
I can see and have been with a firm that sold old computers to staff, but all data was archived on servers and the hard drives were erased. It seems like they missed a step here - where is the history of this man's administration.
And these people only wanted the hard drives? Why?
"It just don't seem right to me, does it sound right to you?"
Actually, it sounds quite right. Another Boston Globe Romney hit piece... they did the same continuously during Romney's tenure as Mass Governor.
Think of the Globe as having the same journalistic objectivity as First Read....some day soon they will start vetting Obama...it is never too late.
80% of billion dollar solar energy grants went directly to major Obama campaign contributors.
"Does that sound right to you?"
I understand that you actually believe you are on a one man crusade to discredit MSNBC booby, but, there is medication that can help...
It's called Viagra - I hear it's all the rage with the impotent!
ONE MORE TIME - if you find it SO distasteful here get the hell out!
It is not like anyone is going to miss you & your ignorance!
Are we clear?
No Bob it sounds real phony to me, that at the Governors personal expense he is to purchase and destroy the hard drives. Ha I'll bet he also destroyed the floppy drives and the flippy drives!
Bob, one has to admire you. As far as anyone can tell, you spend all your time reading newspapers you think are worthless (the Boston Globe?), watching cable television you disagree with (MSNBC?) and commenting on websites you don't agree with. Where would you send people who want to read a newspaper you value, a cable station you approve of and a website with worthwhile comments?
Bob,
Having Obama vetted?
Hmmm, makes me wonder why we never get any feedback from any of Obama's old girlfriends. Did he have any?? Did he date anyone?? How about drinking buddies?? Classmates?? His best man at his wedding?? Professors?? Banker?? Anybody??
I think Mittens has "daddy" issues like Dubya did. Remember the elder Romney tried to run for President, I think in '67 and lost out to you know who. Mittens is trying to outdo daddy. Oh, and the elder Romney was a big flip flopper too. At least now we know where Mittens gets it from!
One of the lamest excuses in politics is that one was "following the law exactly as it was written." George W. Bush got John Yoo to proclaim that waterboarding was not torture so he could "legally" authorize waterboarding. President Clinton parsed his words carefully so he could deny "sexual relations with that woman."
One might hope that Gov. Romney had his own innate or internalized sense of right and wrong, but if his actions are always methodical, careful and done after consulting with lawyers to see if they are legal, he is not the person we want or need as president at this time.
Oh yeah Kate,
I know what you mean. This is like Clinton arguing what "is" means.
You remember. When he claimed he "did not have sex with that woman".
And explaining to the world that a blowjob with his intern isn't sex. LOL
Leave it to a lawyer to entertain you. LOL
I am not techno-savvy. I am techno-defunct. The youngest of my 21 great grandchildren is techno-up on it. I am probably wrong but aren't hard drives specific to the make and model of the computer that they are installed in? If so, what good would a hard drive from a Dell Inspiron 1525 for a person with an Apple computer or HP or Samsung or anything other than the one it came out of.
I don't particularly care for Romney, he is arrogant and has a horrific ego infested with Hubris. I don't like poor little rich kids who presume to tell me what is best for me. I lived and experienced me, and like most other "real" people all my life and..... shut up old man you've gone on long enough.
Wow Old Paul. You are right.
You are not "tecno savvy".
Now, I like and respect Mitt Romney. He will probably be our President for the next Eight Years. Maybe you'll grow to like him in a few years. Maybe not.
Adults think with, and act on, facts. Children think and act on emotion.
Mitt Romney will soon be President Romney. That's a fact you can live with.
Old Paul -
Hard drives are not so specific to particular models of computers (although your Apple/Dell comparison is correct) but they certainly differ (IDE, SATA, SAS) and often do not work with other units based on age and hardware configurations.
Then there is the question of formatting and preparing the drive for use in a new unit.
The cost of a brand new drive is less than the ~$60 purportedly paid and would give you a brand new drive, guaranteed to work with a longer useful life.
If it were the data that was important, there is a much better method; plug a flash drive (very cheap and available everywhere) into one of the USB ports, and simply copy what you want. No opening the case, no messing with hardware compatability or cabling, and it only takes a couple of minutes.
Why someone would have gone to so much trouble to procure the original drives does puzzle me a bit.
I'll bet family gatherings around your house are quite the events (I have trouble remembering my keys much less 21 GGChildren's names :-)
Joseph E. Parent - Let me see; because you like Mitt Romney and because Old Paul does not, you insult him. He has a legitimate question which you do not bother with, and proceed to project your hopes into the future for the next eight years. Nice job <rolling eyes>.
SamNETN-thanks for the information inregard to my techno-blindness and hard drives. Birthdays are the hardest for me-to dang many of them there are also 27 grand children and 6 kids in addition to the greats. Obviously none of us have figured out what makes babies. Grandma is gone now so I am both-whew. (Youngest of the greats is just under 1 year old, in my mind anyone over 1 year old is techno-obsolete and intellectually superior to those who have been bent by adults.)
As far as Jos. is concerned, one of the great things about our country is that we can all suffer our own opinion of things and reserve the right to express respectful disagreement. Of all the GOP candidates, I consider Romney to be the best. I do not care much for Pres. Obama but do not consider him to be the grand flop that the GOP does. I am a life long independant and like to advocate often for the less popular side of things whether I agree or not. Ya learn a lot that way. I spent four years in a United States Marine Corps. uniform and am a combat, rifleman veteran-minor decorations and all, which, in my mind, stands my patriotic credentials beyond those of Romney or Obama. Waughh! Here I go again an emerging old person blathering inanely.
Joseph, Romney will get the republican nomination by default, only because he is up against a ridiculously weak competition. The republican base does not like him, they have turned him down before, he is trailing Obama in almost every poll but his numbers are better then the other candidates all of whom lose by huge margins to Obama. If republicans in general can't get excited as you at the prospect of Romney being president, what makes you think that you will get the independents, or flip some democrats which would be needed to win the general election. I think perhaps it is you that will need to get used to the idea that in all probability Obama will be your president for four more years.
Romney 2012
Semper Fi