Fact Check: Obama does have Chinese investments through Cayman Island trust

Barack Obama has spent an awful long time (and a ton of campaign bucks) on ramming through the idea Mitt Romney is a shadowy rich figure who sneakily invests in dark companies overseas.  This has been, perhaps, the most important and most stressed talking point of the Obama campaign; but all of that work, time, and funding may have been undone when Mitt Romney blasted Obama during this week’s Tuesday evening debate, saying, ”Mr. President, have you looked at your pension?”  He then continued…

“Let me give you some advice. Look at your pension. You also have investments in Chinese companies. You also have investments outside the United States. You also have investments through a Caymans trust.”

In fact, it seems that Barack Obama does invest in Chinese companies through a Cayman Island trust.   This information could not have come at a worse time, especially since election day is only 19 days away.  The Politifact ‘Truth-o-Meter’ says that Romney’s comments are true:

It’s an accurate set of statements when you consider investments made by managers of the Illinois pension fund in which Obama has an account.

As we noted in reviewing previous claims about Romney’s investments in China, the investments involved are indirect and — as far as anybody has said — made without the knowledge of the account holder.

With that clarification, we rate Romney’s statement Mostly True.

The President’s only defense is that …he didn’t know.  Obama certainly may not have known where the investments for his pension were based when he was in the Illinois state senate.  However, if Politifact could find out, and Mitt Romney could find out, then certainly Barack Obama could find that out as well.

This is what happens when your only campaign strategy is character assassination.  But, it’s the only strategy you’ve got when you’ve got nothing else on which to run.