Every Sentence in Rounds EB-5/Darley Ad Contains a Lie

South Dakota, Mike Rounds is lying to us.

Rounds's lie about the Darley arbitration ruling is so blatant, so easily disprovable, that I can hardly believe a man of intelligence and decency would make it, let alone broadcast it so publicly.

David Montgomery can't believe it, though he soft-pedals his critique by calling just part of the ad "significantly overstated."

Rounds's ad is not mere overstatement. Every sentence drips with a lie:

1. "Finally, the truth." The truth, as if this is the answer to any question about EB-5, Northern Beef Packers, the Governor's Office of Economic Development, Richard Benda's death, Joop Bollen's lawbreaking. Far from it.
2. "A California court has ruled on the EB-5 lawsuit...." It's an arbitration hearing, not a court, which I would contend is a significant difference, given that arbitrators are not public officials and that arbitration is not subject to the same appeals process.
3. "...finding the state of South Dakota has no liability and denying all claims." The arbitrator denied the claims of one company. The arbitrator said nothing about lawsuits EB-5 investors may bring.
4. "This proves the attacks on Gov. Mike Rounds are nothing more than dirty politics and character assassination." Mike, I have not played one dirty trick in researching and writing about the corruption Joop Bollen and Richard Benda undertook in your administration. If your complicity in or cluelessness about that corruption assassinates your character, well, who takes the blame for that?
5. "Mike's opponents were running on misinformation." No. No one was misinformed about the nature of the Darley litigation. Mike's opponents have meticulously documented every charge they've made, including their discussion of the Darley litigation. Mike's opponents aren't any more misinformed than the state's lawyers, who looked at the Darley litigation and said, "Uh oh! If we lose this, it could cost the state millions. We'd better fight it!"
6. "Now they have nothing to offer South Dakota." This line is mere political bluster. Ignore it... or read Rick Weiland's proposals to overturn Citizens United, make Medicare a public option, and protect Head Start, Pell Grants, Medicare, and much more from Paul Ryan's budget cuts and tax breaks for the rich.
7. "It won't be the end of the attacks, but now we'll know better than to believe the lies." This is the worst lie, the one that should make your blood boil the most. Extending Mike Rounds's arrogant strategy of avoiding debates, this lie tries to excuse Rounds from offering real responses to any new criticism for the rest of the campaign. Rounds is saying to South Dakota, "Don't think for yourself! You're a dope if you do! If you hear an attack, it's a lie!"

Mike Rounds countenanced a raft of corrupt actions in his EB-5 program. Multiple sources have documented those corrupt actions, and the Darley ruling has refuted none of them. The Darley ruling actually substantiates some of the corruption and the lax oversight that enabled that corruption.

Mike Rounds is looking South Dakota in the eye and telling us lies. He does not deserve to represent South Dakota in the U.S. Senate.

Update 11:12 CDT: Bob Mercer agrees that the Rounds ad is wrong:

Rounds is now running a TV ad for his U.S. Senate campaign declaring the arbitrator’s decision proves all of the information from opponents regarding EB-5 was essentially a lie. That’s not the case at all, however [Bob Mercer, "What Could the Rounds Campaign Have Done?" Pure Pierre Politics, 2014.10.10].