Is Romney a target for extortion/blackmail? [View all]

[Blackhatjack]

In every high profile campaign for national office there are people who may possess knowledge of a candidate's conduct which could be classified as 'damaging or embarrassing.' It is for that reason that prior to announcing a run for president the wannabe candidate has a background check done by their own people to discover the potential landmines that could end her/his campaign.

The equation for disaster is: First, to have an event in the potential candidate's background that could sway public opinion against the candidate if it were to become known, and second, the evidence of the damaging/embarrassing information is known by too many people to ensure the information does not become public.

It appears something in Romney's unreleased tax returns qualifies as damaging/embarrassing, and that more than a handful of people are privvy to that information.

Since the information has yet to be released to the public, and has not yet destroyed his candidacy, does the threat that the information might be made public by one of these individuals with the information not place him in danger of being a target for extortion or blackmail?

The 'art of gentle persuasion' used to secure perks or positions after the candidate wins the election may look completely different depending upon who knew what about the damaging/embarrassing information that never came out.

IMHO there is no way to remove this appearance of vulnerability other than to make a full disclosure of the damaging/embarrassing information before any perks or positions are handed out. That is why candidates pay dearly for campaign consultants who can craft 'damage control' by spinning the consequences of the disclosure, rather than gamble that the information will not come out.

It might be an appropriate question to ask Romney, and yet another good reason for Romney to remove all doubt by releasing his tax returns for the last 10 years.