Gov. Martin O'Malley: Mitt Romney 'Bet Against America' With Swiss Bank Account

ABC

Gov. Martin O'Malley, D-Md., said this morning on "This Week" that presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has "bet against America" by establishing a bank account in Switzerland and engaging in other offshore financial activities.

"He bet against America when he put his money in Swiss bank accounts and tax havens and shelters and also set up a secret company, the shell company in Bermuda," said O'Malley. "What went the way of Europe were the - the Swiss bank accounts and the American dollars that Mitt Romney stuffed in that offshore Swiss bank account, jobs that he facilitated companies in moving offshore, out of places like Ohio, out of Pennsylvania and Maryland."

O'Malley appeared this morning with Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., who called the brouhaha over Mitt Romney's finances a distraction.

"I think voters will consider all of the distractions thrown out by the Obama campaign. But at the end of the day, this election is about two fundamental choices. It's about President Obama, who wants to continue to spend money we don't have," Jindal said. "They incurred now $1 trillion-plus deficit every year he's been president, after he promised we'd cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term. He hasn't done that."

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Mitt Romney has come under attack in recent days following reports about both his and his family's offshore financial holdings and more specifically, a lack of transparency regarding certain assets. Referring to a firm based in Bermuda that was "transferred to a trust owned by Romney's wife, Ann, one day before he was sworn in as Massachusetts governor in 2003," and other holdings, the Associated Press wrote "limited disclosures deprive the public of an accurate depiction of his wealth and a clear understanding of how his (Mitt Romney) assets are handled and taxed."

David Axelrod, a senior campaign strategist for the Obama campaign, jumped on the reports and said Mitt Romney may be "the most secretive candidate that we've seen, frankly, since Richard Nixon."

Responding to the scrutiny about his finances, Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said in a statement: "President Obama's attacks on Mitt Romney have been proven false time and again. As job growth slows, manufacturing activity stalls, and our economy continues to sputter, President Obama knows he can't make a legitimate argument for another term in office, so instead he is trying to tear down his opponent."