McAuliffe’s role was key

Let’s examine a “fact” suggested by The Roanoke Times in its recent hit piece on Ken Cuccinelli: that Terry McAuliffe is not a subject of the Security and Exchange Commission investigation into his GreenTech automotive venture. (“The facts of omission,” Aug. 26 editorial).

If you really believe agency bloodhounds aren’t sniffing around McAuliffe, perhaps I could interest you in some stock in a failed electric car company in Mississippi.

The investigation involves disclosures to major investors regarding the future value of their GreenTech stock. There would be two key drivers of that value; one was the valuation of existing stock in the closely held company, of which McAuliffe held 25 percent. He has told Virginia authorities that his holdings “exceeded $250,000.” What was the basis for that statement?

A second factor has to be McAuliffe’s outrageous statements of GreenTech’s prospects — to produce 10,000 cars and 900 jobs — which Virginia officials doubted and Mississippi authorities now deride. How did he come up with those whoppers?

You can take the chairman out of the company, but you can’t possibly take the company out of the chairman in judging whether McAuliffe’s past statements contributed to woefully misleading investors. And neither will the SEC.

CHARLES S. WERTALIK
SALEM

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