Former Massachusetts governor and 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney predicted that there’s a “bombshell” lurking in the tax returns that Donald Trump has not released.
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“Mitt Romney, who totally blew an election that should have been won and whose tax returns made him look like a fool, is now playing tough guy”, Trump posted on Twitter.
Donald Trump says he wants to release his tax returns but can’t because he is being audited by the IRS.
This got Trump going off against Romney Wednesday night – and reminding everyone just how eager Romney was to get his endorsement and campaign with him back in 2012.
Aside from Trump, Romney also urged other Republican presidential hopefuls including Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz to release their tax returns.
“I have one the world’s most complicated tax returns. We really ought to see from all three of these fellows what their taxes look like to see if there’s an issue there”, he added, also pointing to Texas Sen.
But another former IRS attorney, Garrett Gregory, does think there could be a potential “ripple effect” for any public figure releasing returns before an audit is complete.
This is because, he said, every time Mr Trump is asked about his taxes “he dodges and delays”.
Romney, who decided against a third presidential run past year after initially considering jumping in to the race, uncorked his attack on Trump, ahead of next week’s Super Tuesday contests that could further cement the billionaire’s strong front-runner status in the GOP presidential race.
Contending that tax returns have nothing to do with a person’s net worth, Trump took to social media to argue that he has already filed his financial statements with the Federal Election Commission.
“We’re working on them very hard, and they will be very good”, Trump said. I tell my people: “Why is it that every single year, I’m audited, whereas other people that are very rich, people are never audited – and they don’t even know what I’m talking about when I talk about audits”.
Trump told CNN tonight that he’ll “make a determination over the next couple of months” about whether or not he’ll release his tax returns. Trump Foundation gave a total of $5.2 million during the five most recent tax years for which data is publicly available, according to CBS.
Rubio noted that it was “on the record” that Trump appeared to criticize Romney from the left on the “self-deportation” issue during the 2012 race.
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Tax experts say that explanation has them scratching their heads – emboldening Trump critics who argue that the celebrity businessman-turned-candidate’s personal finances remain unexamined.
