Mitt Romney’s recent call for Donald Trump to release his tax returns and any potential “bombshell” within (the irony of which we won’t get into here) lead to an interesting claim from the Republican frontrunner-he can’t because he’s being audited.
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“I want to release my tax returns”, Trump told CNN moderator Wolf Blitzer, “but I can’t release it while I’m under an audit…”
“They’re going to pick apart his taxes, they’re going to pick apart his business deals”, he continued, adding later that if Trump’s taxes are already prepared, “the only reason he’s not releasing them is he’s afraid”. On Thursday night, Romney needled Trump again, posting on Twitter: “No legit reason @realDonaldTrump can’t release returns while being audited, but if scared, release earlier returns no longer under audit”.
Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and other rivals criticized Trump for refusing to release his tax returns; critics like 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney have said that Trump is trying to hide something.
Olsen said that Trump’s revelation about 12 years of audits is something of a bombshell itself. Both Trump and Rubio are signaling they’re unwilling to cede Texas, the crown jewel of Tuesday’s voting, to Cruz, the home-state senator. “I’m in no rush to do it. Nobody has been bringing it up except for Mitt Romney”. It ain’t complicated. If Donald Trump hands over his tax returns later in the year, in the election, that the good folks in the media will have a heyday ripping him apart if there is anything in those tax returns.
He also challenged the Republican presidential hopefuls that if they don’t want transparency on their taxes, it would simply mean that there’s something they don’t want the public to see. “And luckily I’m not being audited this year – or last year, for that matter”. “I don’t know. Maybe because of religion, maybe because of something else, maybe because I’m doing this [implied running for president], but this is just recently”.
On the campaign trail, Trump has repeatedly said that he – like most Americans – tries to pay as little in taxes as possible.
Trump said back in January he was getting his tax returns ready for release.
“The audit process is handled by career, non-partisan civil servants, and we have processes in place to safeguard the exam process”. Romney is suggesting that perhaps Donald Trump is not as wealthy as he claims, and is not paying certain taxes. “I will absolutely give my return, but I’m being audited now for two or three [years’ worth] now so I can’t”.
In another Tweet Thursday, Trump said “I’m going to do what Mitt Romney was totally unable to do- WIN!” He chose to release 10 years’ of tax returns, after Richard Nixon challenged him to make financial disclosures, said tax historian Joseph Thorndike of Tax Analysts.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich also will release his tax returns soon, campaign spokesman Chris Schrimpf told McClatchy.
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“Unfortunately we all know that Governor Romney is not the world’s greatest communicator and this seems to be the classic muddled message”, said Snyder, a former strategist who now runs the Disruptor Capital investment firm.
