Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he put his money in a blind trust to avoid any conflict of interest, although he once scoffed at such devices as “an age-old ruse.”
Romney is facing questions over when his involvement with Bain Capital ended, and increasing demands for him to release his latest tax returns. The former Massachusetts governor has tried to tamp down interest in his money matters. Last week he stressed that his money was in a blind trust.
“I don’t manage the money that I have. In order to make sure that I didn’t have a conflict of interest while I was governor or while I was considering a run for national office, I had a blind trust established,” he said in a July 13
TV clip played Monday by “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central.
But “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart unearthed a clip from Oct. 18, 1994, that showed Romney deriding blind trusts.
“The blind trust is an age-old ruse, if you will,” Romney said. “Which is to say you can always tell a blind trust what it can and cannot do. You give a blind trust rules.”
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