Romney ad with Olympic footage goes dark on YouTube
— -- Priorities USA Action, a super PAC supporting President Barack Obama, removed an Olympic-themed campaign ad from its website Thursday after the International Olympics Committee said it infringed copyright, and now an ad from Mitt Romney's campaign featuring images from the Olympic Games is also off the Web.
A Romney campaign ad released earlier this year that includes a brief clip from the 2002 Olympic Games has been set to "private" on the official campaign YouTube page. It is not clear if the new classification of the video is related to an OIC request, but timing suggests it may be the cause.
Romney, who currently is attending the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic Games in London, was the CEO of the Olympic Organizing Committee when the Winter Games were held in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2002. His leadership of the committee is often credited for "saving" the 2002 Games, which were in financial turmoil when Romney took the helm in 1999.
Sandrine Tonge, a spokeswoman for the OIC, told Yahoo News Thursday that the Committee "does not allow footage of the Olympic Games or an association with the Olympic rings to be used for political purposes," which could prove to be a headache for Republicans who want to highlight Romney's success ten years ago.
A spokeswoman from the Romney campaign did not immediately return a request for comment about the removal of the ad.
