Washington – Mnuchin: Trump Has ‘No Intention’ Of Releasing Tax Returns

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    Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin takes a  question in the briefing room of the White House, in Washington, Wednesday, April 26, 2017, where they discussed President Donald Trump tax proposals. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)Washington – President Donald Trump “has no intention” of releasing his taxes returns to the public, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Wednesday, asserting Americans have “plenty of information” about the president’s financial matters.

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    For decades, presidents have released their tax returns. But Trump has so far refused, suggesting he would share the tax documents only after the Internal Revenue Service completes an “audit” of them. He’s never disclosed proof of an audit.

    Mnuchin appeared to close the door completely Wednesday.

    “The president has no intention. The president has released plenty of information and I think has given more financial disclosure than anybody else. I think the American population has plenty of information,” he said, inaccurately characterizing the president’s disclosures.

    The comment came as the secretary briefed reporters on the president’s new proposal to overhaul taxes. Democrats have sought to use the tax debate to pressure Trump to release his returns, arguing the information is necessary to evaluate how Trump’s tax proposals would affect his personal wealth and his business’ bottom line.

    Mnuchin declined to comment on how Trump would benefit from his proposals. He and other administration officials left the room as reporters shouted questions about how the plan would affect the Trump family.

    Trump, a billionaire, owns a global real estate, marketing and property management company, which at the start of his presidency he placed in a trust that he can revoke at any time. His daughter and son-in-law, White House advisers, are also holding onto significant business assets. And Trump’s adult sons run his Trump Organization.

    Trump officials have offered varying explanations for why the president does not disclosure his returns.

    White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway said in a television interview in January that the fact that he won the election without putting out the information shows that “people didn’t care” about it.

    Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. have made similar points in various interviews.

    There’s evidence the president has been thinking about the issue in recent weeks. He asked his friend and Las Vegas business partner Phil Ruffin, a fellow billionaire, whether he should put out the returns, Ruffin said.

    “I advised him not to,” Ruffin said. “It’s a waste of time, and he’ll spend years explaining them and never get to accomplishing any of his goals.”

    Ruffin said he told the president that Democrats would hire “armies of accountants” to pore over the documents and “make an issue out of any and everything.”

    Even with Mnuchin’s seemingly definitive answer, the issue of Trump’s tax returns isn’t likely to go away. Democrats have threatened to hold up his tax proposals until they see the returns.

    Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called Trump’s tax plan “unprincipled” — and one that “will result in cuts for the one percent, conflicts for the president, crippling debt for America and crumbs for the working people.”

    Democrats also have been pushing for a vote on a bill that would require the president and all major-party nominees to publicly disclose their previous three years of tax returns with the Office of Government Ethics or the Federal Election Commission.

    The Democrats have initiated a petition process that would lead to a House vote if they can get a majority of lawmakers to sign it — an unlikely prospect, but one that gives Democrats a chance to highlight which Republicans declined to help with their effort.


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    19 Comments
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    hashomer
    hashomer
    6 years ago

    Another promise not kept by the amoral unethical Orange Yam. A total loss for America.

    hashomer
    hashomer
    6 years ago

    Another promise not kept by the amoral unethical Orange Yam. A total loss for America.

    yaakov doe
    Member
    yaakov doe
    6 years ago

    I believed Trump when he said he would release his tax returns. Did he lie to us?

    pushkin
    pushkin
    6 years ago

    Hasnowflake getting desperate, he posted his comment twice. Didn’t President Trump say he will release his taxes after hildabeast releases her emails?

    6 years ago

    What I learned from this article is that we people don’t even know if it’s true that he is in fact under audit. The IRS would be forbidden to say because of current privacy rules. He could be scamming us about that also.

    Realistic
    Realistic
    6 years ago

    Did he say that he would eventually release it, when his audit is over?

    Will his supporters ever hold him accountable?

    6 years ago

    For the record, while it is true Trump has not made his full tax returns public, they have certainly been made available to a plethora of investigators of various source (aside from the IRS itself). As example, a whole long list of gaming commissions and large financial institutions.

    And as far as I can tell, Trump “agreed” to release his tax returns only when the following condition was satsified:

    > Trump said he would release his returns – over what he described as his attorney’s objections – only after Clinton released roughly 30,000 emails she had deleted from her private server that she had deemed personal.

    Those who write about it estimate that Trump’s tax return would amount to something like 12,000 (twelve thousand) pages. Really meaningful, I am sure you would all read it thoroughly.

    Nova2
    Nova2
    6 years ago

    You do know there isn’t any legal requirment to release them. Every where you look it’s trump this and Trump that….the liberals are running around like thier heads are going to explode!

    6 years ago

    Trump should NEVER release his tax returns; he is under no legal requirement to do so. I have one word to say to those on this site, who want him to release them, and that is TOUGH. The same nudniks on this site, who want the returns released, would question every page, every paragraph, every deduction, every type of depreciation on the various properties, every long term loss carryover, every long term capital loss, every investment, every charitable deduction, etc. It is none of their blasted business. Trump released hundreds of pages of financial statements, when he declared that he was running for President. He doesn’t have to release anything else, nor should he.

    6 years ago

    It don’t matter. NY politicians are considering a law that will allow his NY State tax returns to become public knowledge. That alone, should tell us quite a bit if he was honest or not.

    6 years ago

    Normal people couldn’t care less about his tax returns! This just shows the desperation of the liberal idiots who are choking on all his numerous accomplishments in just 100 days, and they have nothing else to criticize!!! Lol