Press Releases

WITH CHRIS CHRISTIE’S LOGIC, WE CAN’T TRUST TOM FOLEY — WITH ANYTHING

Hartford, CT —Republican Governors Association Chair Chris Christie is in Connecticut today to campaign for Tom Foley, who was recently caught plagiarizing his urban policy agenda and lying about it.

The only problem is that just last week, the RGA Chair attacked a Democratic candidate for alleged plagiarism in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race, saying:

• “I don’t think they teach plagiarism at Harvard Business School.”
• “I don’t think they were teaching you to cut and paste other people’s work and call it your own.”
• “If you can’t trust her honesty and her integrity when she tells you that this is her plan, why would you trust her honesty and integrity on anything else…You shouldn’t trust any of it.”

The line would be comical — except Tom Foley not only plagiarized his urban outline, but he’s also a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. If Tom Foley plagiarized his urban agenda, how can we trust what he says about his arrests, dangerously and deliberately ramming his car into other moving vehicles at speeds of up to 50 M.P.H., and his business record of exploiting the middle class for personal profit?

We know Tom Foley has already lied extensively about those experiences, so according to Chris Christie’s own standard, Tom Foley can’t be trusted.

What can we expect Chris Christie and the RGA to say today about Tom Foley blatantly plagiarizing the work of others? Does Governor Christie have the hubris to hold one standard about plagiarism in one state but another for Connecticut?

He’ll likely say that Tom Foley took much of his urban outline from his own policy institute, which itself is a violation of Connecticut Election Law.

“Tom Foley plagiarizes his outline, lies about his arrest record, and tries to rewrite his history of exploiting the middle class for personal profit. According to Governor Christie’s own standard, voters can’t trust Foley — and we agree,” said Devon Puglia, Democratic Party spokesman. “From a party that slashes programs for working families in order to support tax cuts for millionaires, we can expect Chris Christie to demonstrate a clear double standard on Tom Foley’s plagiarism.”

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TOM FOLEY OPENLY LIED TO THE MEDIA DURING AVAILABILITY LAST NIGHT

Hartford, CT — Less than three minutes into last night’s gubernatorial debate, Tom Foley questioned Governor Malloy’s honesty, saying at the 2:42 mark:

“You’re going to hear a lot of figures and numbers from Governor Malloy. I call it ‘Malloy Math’. Some are true, but most aren’t…When the Governor says, ‘let me be perfectly clear’, then you should listen very closely because what he’s about to say probably isn’t either clear or true.”

Taking the first shot and baselessly questioning Governor Malloy’s integrity, Mr. Foley should have tried to live up to his own standard. Except during his nearly eight-minute availability last night, he blatantly lied to the press about his positions, history, and record.

On almost every question, he lied to and deliberately misled reporters as he refused to answer even the most basic questions. The entire availability can be found here.

The veracity of the availability is dissected below.

TOM FOLEY’S ARREST RECORD

• Tom Foley in 2010: He called the incident “minor” and“at a very low rate of speed”

• Tom Foley last night on his ramming a car in three different places, five different times, at speeds up to 50 miles per hour: “It’s absolutely untrue.”

• When asked about the police report, “It doesn’t mean it’s true. The police report was not made by a policeman. It was a complaint written by a citizen. That doesn’t mean it was true.”

FACTS

• The police report is and was written by an officer in Southampton, NY. Mr. Foley’s comments are factually incorrect.
• According to that police report written by an officer: “Defendant intentionally struck the victims while they were riding in a 1981 Mercury Sedan … Defendant was operating a 1973 Toyota Jeep … Defendant struck victims several times, once at [an intersection], once while west-bound on [Montauk] Highway while traveling approx. 50 MPH.and several more times at the parking lot of Suffolk Lighting on Main St.”
• The driver of the other car who was deliberately hit by Mr. Foley said the ordeal was “no accident” and was “frightening”.

STATE ELECTIONS ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION FINE

• Tom Foley last night: “It was a settlement. It was not a fine.”
• When pressed about the almost $16,000 payment, he said “That’s not a fine.”

FACTS

• SEEC calls it a “civil penalty”
• Danbury Mayor Mark Boughtonsaid: “a fine is a fine is a fine.”
• John McKinneysaid: “This violation of state elections laws as referenced in the stipulated agreement is a serious matter.”

TOM FOLEY’S RECORD AT BIBB

Tom Foley last night on his record at the Bibb Co.: “Well, in the Governor’s ads, he said I closed the Bibb Company, or that the Bibb Company failed while I owned it. That’s absolutely not true. He said I took $20 million, and that’s absolutely not true. Most of what he’s saying about my business record is simply not true. I created 3,000 jobs while I owned the Bibb Company over a period of, let’s see, it was 11 or 12 years.”

FACTS

• The Hartford Courant found Mr. Foley’s claims — in a “Significantly Misleading” ad — that he created any jobs to be “incorrect”
• Foley was found to have closed a mill— after previously denying it — and laid off nearly a thousand workers.
• In April of 1995, Bibb missed a $9 million balloon payment to its bondholders and Foley cut the workforce from 6,000 to 5,500 – all while NTC was given $4 million in annual management fees.
• In early 1996, Bibb was forced to go into Chapter 11 Bankruptcy to restructure its debt, forcing Foley to exchange 90% of his stock and forcing him out as Chairman and CEO.
• According to the Associated Press, “Foley said NTC Group did make about $20 million.”

TOM FOLEY’S INCOME TAXES

Refusing to discuss his zero percent rate and how his profits were offset by losses of almost $3,000,000 in 2011, Tom Foley said last night: “You’ve asked me to release my tax returns. I’ve done that.”

FACTS

• Tom Foley has only provided his federal returns to the media — not his state returns.
• His returns have not been released — they’ve been only shown briefly to the media.An interaction with the Foley campaign captured on tape demonstrates the public is not allowed to see his tax forms.
• Tom Foley did not release his 2013 returns, blacked out his address, and refuses to tell residents if he pays more in taxes to neighboring states.
• While claiming he had no income in 2011 and 2012,he simultaneously contributed $27,000 to Republican candidates across the country.

OUR SMART GUN LAW

• During the debate, Tom Foley lied to the audience by telling them he would not repeal the gun law.He has said otherwise.

• When questioned during his availability, he told reporters, “I said I haven’t said I would repeal the gun law.”

• When questioned further, Tom Foley finally acknowledged that he would repeal the law if it came to him.

FACTS

• Myriad reports show he said he would sign a repeal.
• He sought and received the support of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League — which aims to roll back our law — because he promised to sign a repeal to Scott Wilson, the group’s head.
• He has repeatedly called our gun law an“inconvenience” and said the Governor was“overreaching”.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

Tom Foley, who has been caught plagiarizing his urban agenda, said of Governor Malloy: “He has no plan. He’s not talking about his plan for Connecticut, and he’s not talking about his record.”

FACTS

Tom Foley can go to Dan Malloy’s Website to see:

• A plan on Jobs
• A plan on College Affordability
• A plan on Domestic Violence and School Safety
• A plan on the Environment
• A plan for Seniors

NEGATIVE ATTACK ADS

Tom Foley said last night: “The Governor’s been out there with negative attack ads saying things that are not true for months.”

FACTS

• Tom Foley ran his first negative ad in November of 2013
• Tom Foley is the only candidate to have an ad in this race rated not just inaccurate, but“Significantly Misleading” by the Hartford Courant.
• All of Governor Malloy’s ads have been labeled accurate by the Courant.

Additional Background:

The Driver Of The Other Car Said He Believed The Collision Was “No Accident,” Said The Episode Was “Frightening.” According to the Hartford Courant, “Documents obtained by The Courant about a 1981 car crash involving Republican gubernatorial hopeful Tom Foley paint a dramatically different picture from the account that he gave during his failed 2010 governor’s campaign when he described the event as an accidental bump at low speed in traffic. […] The driver of the other car — Michael Howe, now of Greenwich — told The Courant in a recent interview that he believed the contact between the vehicles had been ‘no accident,’ and that the episode was ‘frightening.'” [Hartford Courant,10/15/13]

HFN On Bibb: “The Company Missed A Deadline In April To Pay A $9 Million Balloon Interest Payment It Owes Bondholders.”“The appointment of Hammer, formerly the division’s senior vice president of merchandising, came last week and is one of the first signs from Bibb that it is about to make some major changes in its operations. This is obvious when Hammer describes his role. He uses phrases often used by company executives trying to turn a company around, phrases that demonstrate there is a long road Hammer and Bibb, it’s a difficult, but exciting time. He has a job that’s not going to be easy as the company tries to restructure its debt. The company missed a deadline in April to pay a $9 million balloon interest payment it owes bondholders.” [HFN, 5/8/95]

Foley Said NTC Group Made About $20 Million Over 10 Years From Bibb In Management Fees. According to the Associated Press State & Local Wire, “In response to Malloy’s continued attacks focusing on the Bibb Co., Foley said his company, NTC Group, bought the Macon, Ga.-based textile company in 1985 when it was losing money and turned it around. He said the recession of 1990 and increasing competition from overseas hurt the company, which went through a restructuring in 1996 that ended with bondholders owning and controlling Bibb. Foley said he had no role in management or operations after 1996, and Bibb closed its largest fabric mill in Columbus, Ga., in 1998. He said Bibb’s new owner filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001. Foley said NTC Group did make about $20 million over 10 years from Bibb in routine management fees.” [Associated Press State & Local Wire, 10/11/10]

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BREAKING: WHILE PAYING 0% TAX RATE, TOM FOLEY MADE THOUSANDS IN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Hartford, CT — According to Hearst Connecticut Media’s Ken Dixon, it appears that Tom Foley made tens of thousands of dollars in political contributions in 2011 and 2012 — the same time he was paying a zero percent effective federal tax rate.

As Tom Foley was paying almost no taxes, he was able to dole out $27,000 to Republicans across the country:

• $5,000 — the maximum individual contribution — to Mitt Romney’s Presidential Campaign
• Another $7,500 to outside super PACs supporting Mitt Romney’s Presidential Campaign
• $7,500 to the Connecticut Republican Party
• $2,500 to Linda McMahon
• $1,000 to Maine U.S. Senate Republican candidate Bruce Poliquin
• $1,000 to Republican Congressional candidate Wayne Winsley
• $2,500 to Republican Congressional candidate Steve Obsitnik

Last week, by blacking out his address on his tax forms, Tom Foley refused to reveal if Connecticut is even his primary address. Is that because it’s outside of Connecticut? By refusing to show anyone his state tax returns, he won’t tell us where he earns income, owns property, or how much he pays in taxes to neighboring states. Does he pay more in neighboring states than he does here?

Hypocrisy abounds.

“We already knew that Tom Foley owns a seven-bedroom mansion and a $5 million yacht. What we didn’t know is that as Tom Foley is paying almost the bare minimum in taxes, he’s simultaneously maxing out to Republican candidates,” said Devon Puglia, Democratic Party spokesman. “This is what people like Tom Foley do — they exploit workers and middle class families and then refuse to pay their fair share. It’s absolutely backwards that Tom Foley is making thousands and thousands in political contributions across the country as he’s paying a zero percent federal tax rate.”

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WHAT DOES GOVERNOR CHRISTIE SAY ABOUT TOM FOLEY’S PLAGIARISM?

Hartford, CT —Republican Governors Association Chair Chris Christie said recently about the Wisconsin gubernatorial race, “I don’t think they teach plagiarism at Harvard Business School.”

Governor Christie also recently said in Wisconsin, “I don’t think they were teaching you to cut and paste other people’s work and call it your own.”

There’s just one problem — Tom Foley is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School.

So what does the RGA have to say about Connecticut and Tom Foley’s blatantly plagiarizing the work of others for his talking-point-heavy urban outline that he released last week?

“After Tom Foley plagiarized his plan, we look forward to hearing what Governor Christie has to say to residents here in Connecticut. Governor Christie has essentially told our state that what Tom Foley did was wrong,” said Democratic Party Chair Nancy DiNardo.

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