Since he won't release his tax returns, and does admit they'd be politically damaging, all we can do is guess. This diary is one in a series of speculative diaries wondering what could possibly be worth the price he is paying by remaining secretive.
Today's idea: insider trading. Romney was deep into 4 possible sources of tips: Wall Street, politics, the Olympics, and the Mormon church.
- Wall Street as a source is self-explanatory. Bain was in the business of finding companies to
help loot. If Willard let a rumor slip that Bain might try to take FOOBAR incorporated private, put a massive short against FOOBAR stock, and then denied the rumor, he could make some money.
- Politics is another fruitful source of rumors. We've seen how Congress exempts themselves from insider trading rules; it does not require too much imagination to conceive of someone trying to curry favor calling Willard up and saying "Hey, you might want a taste of this". Romney also knows people who know things in Massachusetts and Utah.
- We know that Willard tried to help companies that Bain owned a piece of during the Olympics, e.g., Staples. Knowing that a small company was about to be awarded an Olympic contract could provide opportunities for illegal investment
- The Mormon church is a wealthy organization and owns a lot of stuff, especially in Utah. It is at least possible that the church grapevine carried juicy tips to Willard's greedy ears.
Now, the SEC didn't investigate much of anything under Bush, and was pretty busy with the dot-com bubble under Clinton. And the IRS does not, so far as I know, review 1040 forms for evidence of criminal activity not related to the tax forms.
It is therefore worth speculating as to whether or not Romney's tax forms, if examined by someone looking for unethical or illegal behavior, might show a pattern of "extremely well-timed investments" - some of them provable crimes.
Other diaries in the series.
Repeated audits with unfavorable results
Lots of bad investments
Partnerships with bad people
How he got $100M in his IRA
He didn't tithe
Nothing, he's just pathologically secretive
Hiding stuff from Ann Romney
Rich people write-offs
Olympics corruptions
Medical expenses
Political contributions
Foreign investments
Church contributions exceed taxes