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Arrogance and Awfulness: Rounds Asks to Change False Answer to GOAC

Mike Rounds, are you really this bad of a candidate?

Rounds... said in written statements to the Government Operations and Audit Committee last week that “the governor’s office was not served” with lawsuit papers regarding the state’s handling of the EB-5 program.... Rounds, a Republican, was governor at the time of some of the program’s mismanagement.

But Rounds on Thursday sent a letter to the head of the committee asking for permission to change his original response hours after the Rapid City Journal posted on its website a summons showing that Rounds’ office was served with papers pertaining to the lawsuit in July 2009 [links mine; "Rounds Says Wrong Information Sent to Panel Investigating EB-5," AP via Aberdeen American News, 2014.10.03].

Are you kidding me? You have the longest-running, best-funded statewide campaign in South Dakota, you get caught in a lie, and you whimper, "Can I change my answer?"

Rounds is running an Annette Bosworth campaign. He seems to be running on charisma, thinking he can just turn on the charm and make everyone think he's sliced bread. He's not used to people asking him questions, let alone having to answer questions honestly and in detail.

When Rounds received the committee's questions last month, he could have racked his memory and looked up the facts. Rounds could have called Nila Novotny—she still works for the Governor's office—and asked her to check the records. Rounds could have had his lawyer and a couple campaign researchers review his GOAC answers for accuracy. Rounds could have done his homework, gotten his facts straight, and given GOAC the accurate answers they deserve.

Instead, Rounds ignored basic fact-checking and focused all of his energy on writing lengthy political snark into his answers. Rounds wrote as if the inquiry were just another campaign event and not a serious request from a Legislative committee for simple, factual responses. Rounds wrote as if he could just say whatever popped into his head because he's a wonderful guy and no one would dare contradict him.

And now Rounds has to contradict himself. Mike, what kind of a campaign team do you have that lets you get into situations like this?

28 Comments

  1. 96Tears 2014.10.03

    Brilliant, Cory! "Rounds is running an Annette Bosworth campaign."

  2. 96Tears 2014.10.03

    Who on Rounds' governor staff knew, or just as importantly, should have known what was going on in the partnership between the Governor's Office of Economic Development and the Board of Regents/Bollen's office? Naming names and titles, and showing how the lines of authority operated or should have operated would be helpful. Rounds and Daugaard will never be honest about this unless they get caught (again).

    I recall that the Secretary of Agriculture was very interested in getting on the board of directors of the group promoting the mega-dairies. Apparently, quite a lot of people knew about the secret EB-5 cash reserves and the easy money funding of high risk pet projects.

    Yes, I'm drawing lines between dots, but when you have to make assumptions because Daugaard and Rounds are working very hard to contain information, what choice do you have?

    Here we are less than 40 days before the election and we're all still stumbling through the obstructions set up by these greedy clowns to get morsels of truth. Unbelievable! How outrageous!

  3. Bill Fleming 2014.10.03

    Can't resist a tongue cluck and finger wag to Pat Powers for insulting Mr. Pressler about "senility" in DWCC today.

    Everyone here agree that Larry's not exactly the SD Senatorial candidate who comes to mind in the context of profound, consequential problems with attention, comprehension, and memory?

    PP must not be reading the newspapers these days.

  4. larry kurtz 2014.10.03

    The conventional wisdom is that a Senator Pressler would negotiate restoration of his seniority to caucus with the majority party or he will switch affiliations again as he is wont to do.

  5. lesliengland 2014.10.03

    we are seeing this over and over around the country as the GOP gets exposed-Chris Christie, N.C. gov, Rick Perry sued, there must be a long list somewhere. Listening to rush Limbaugh ect. hasn't been such a good idea.

  6. caheidelberger Post author | 2014.10.03

    Bill, very stinging comparison. Pressler has sounded perfectly sharp, perfectly focused on policy issues on the campaign trail. Pressler hasn't had to spew a series of "I don't recall" excuses on the campaign trail. Pressler hasn't asked to change an answer. Rounds is sounding like the cranky and out-of-touch old man.

  7. bearcreekbat 2014.10.03

    The Rounds retraction was also front page news in today's RC Journal (10-3-14 - "Rounds Gives Conflicting Testimony").

  8. Lynn 2014.10.03

    I'm curious as to how many Republicans will vote for Pressler over Rounds now. It's getting worse for Rounds by the day.

  9. lesliengland 2014.10.03

    people who see him weekly say he is not all there. aging is a painful thing.

  10. lesliengland 2014.10.03

    bcb- I am a fictitious entity that was too freaked out by the1st of two divorces to the same woman, battling custody, to remember ser. no. 1104 was separate prop. so lerhdal got it for a song to pay bills, thanks to friends who told him I had one. he later treated me as a thief. $179, 000 last I looked. vintage 54.

  11. Lynn 2014.10.03

    Leslie,

    Is Rounds aging that quickly with his coronation now coming into doubt and the press and voters are asking questions he doesn't like?

  12. bearcreekbat 2014.10.03

    leslie - sorry to hear about the fate of your Strat. I recall that you made some great music with it when you had it.

  13. Roger Cornelius 2014.10.03

    Where can I find the letter Rounds sent to Tidemann requesting to "change his answer"?

  14. Bill Fleming 2014.10.03

    Seems like Rounds could have maybe avoided this embarrassment by showing up and answering questions in person instead of trying to phone it in. The committee and Joop-o-mopilis should maybe reconsider whether the friendly Q&A in writing method is really such a hot idea after all.

  15. mike from iowa 2014.10.03

    Wasn't it Nero who claimed there was no urgency to subpoena Bollen and others before the elections while Rome burned to the ground?

  16. lesliengland 2014.10.03

    that must be it. expose joop and the whole thing comes tumbling down. but why did Montgomery say "recently the democrats focused on bollen"? do the dems/duffy know something about joop that we don't??

  17. Charlie Abourezk 2014.10.03

    SDCL 22-29-1. Perjury--Violation: "Any person who, having taken an oath to testify, declare, depose, or certify truly, before any competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any state or federal proceeding or action in which such an oath may by law be administered, states, intentionally and contrary to the oath, any material matter which the person knows to be false, is guilty of perjury."

  18. Slynn 2014.10.03

    Cory, I can't complement your investgative reporting of the EB-5 scandal (this doesn't seem to be quite the right word) enough. I would add to your analysis above that the Rounds' team did all of the fact checking and deliberately chose to lie.

  19. PrairieLady - Gayle 2014.10.03

    Even without the scandal of the EB-5, Mike does not instill confidence that he is the man to vote for. Any somewhat intelligent voter would see through him because he has been selective in the forums he has spoken to and he blew off debates, which are standard in any political race. Exactly who will he represent if he got in?
    Maybe I am in la-la-land in my thinking because I know most of SD will vote for anyone with an R behind their name. Guess I can hope.

  20. Francis Schaffer 2014.10.03

    It just dawned on me that Marion claims $600 million in capital investments from the EB-5 program. My capital investments must be paid for and paid back. Which means, South Dakotans have missed the opportunity to invest their money in these projects. I want the businessman Marion to explain this to me with follow up questions. Did the dairies that received EB-5 investment money offer their neighbors the lucrative opportunity to invest?

  21. Deb Geelsdottir 2014.10.03

    There are some very interesting comments on the Kos story that Jenny linked to. I don't follow where the $100,000,000 figure came from. Plus, it might be that one of the commenters is Chinese.

    Anyone else notice those comments?

  22. Roger Cornelius 2014.10.03

    Yeah Deb, I caught that too.
    Not quite sure what to make of it.
    Even if you include the $167 million investor made to NBP and the $140 million in Bollen's rip off of immigration fees, it doesn't equal $100,000,000.
    Maybe it is the total amount of what investors have made to South Dakota EB-5 projects.

  23. Jane Smith 2014.10.04

    you tell a street cop, oops I lied, so sorry. That cop will tell you to talk to the judge. So when are these characters going to talk the judge?

  24. 96Tears 2014.10.04

    Sixteen days until Oct. 20, the first anniversary of Richard Benda's mysterious and violent death in a lonely shelterbelt. How much of the Rounds Racket Scam do you think you'd know today if Mr. Benda's bizarre death hadn't happened? Do you really think Marty Jackley would have served those three felony warrants and held a grand jury within the 12-month gap of the 2014 general election? And do you think Jackley is sitting on another group of warrants against Bollen and others having concluded his investigation last year and apparently having reopened it since then? Why doesn't Mike Rounds call on Marty Jackley to spill the beans on his investigation instead of calling on Brendan Johnson who is prohibited by his boss to divulge anything? Who's Marty Jackley's boss?

  25. mike from iowa 2014.10.04

    It was mighty convenient of Jackley to claim in April of 2014 that he had drawn up charges and was ready to convene a grand jury,but the subject conveniently killed himself in the mean time last year.

  26. Roger Cornelius 2014.10.04

    Damn I'd like to see Daugaard's federal subpoena.

    Republicans are demanding that Brendan Johnson release his investigation reports, yet they won't ask Jackley or Daugaard for their subpoenas.

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