It’s an old story really. Benjamin Franklin once wrote in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy:
“Nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
But then, Franklin had never had the pleasure of meeting President Donald J. Trump.
Even a cursory examination of Trump’s tax claims reads like a decade-long story arc on Days of Our Lives. Will he? Won’t he?
Who the heck knows?
During an interview with Conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt, Trump seemed quite emphatic about the whole notion of transparency. Musing over the then hypothetical possibility of him making a play for the presidency he said:
“I would release tax returns, and I would also explain to people that as a person that’s looking to make money, you know, I’m in the business of making money until I do this. And if I won, I would make money for our country.”
Fast forward to May and we were treated to a less exuberant Trump, a man who would love to release his tax returns but just couldn’t get those damn pencil-pushing monkeys off his back. A man who was being hassled by the man. A man who would be more than happy to do the right thing if it wasn’t for one small snag.
A routine audit by the IRS.
He’d release them as soon as it was done, and in plenty of time for election day.
Or would he?
Because in an interview with the Associated Press the day before making that very claim Trump had hinted at yet another possibility. Not only did he not expect to release his tax returns before the November election but that there was at any rate:
“Nothing to learn from them,”
Something he then almost immediately denied.
In interview I told @AP that my taxes are under routine audit and I would release my tax returns when audit is complete, not after election!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2016
Tax Lyrical
As the dust settled from a Trump electoral victory that — some of us at least– saw coming, the question of Trump’s taxes became even more important. Efforts to prevent the Electoral College from anointing him centered around his competence, conflicts of interest and, financial ties to Russia. And after it became clear that the Electoral College was fully prepared to reveal its utter redundancy by failing to do the only thing it was set up to do, thoughts turned towards impeachment.
And still.
There were no taxes.
By January we were being treated to yet another line of argument. Real-life inspiration for Cruella de Vil and Trump spokesmen Kellyanne Conway seemed to think that the whole issue was all so deliciously passé. Speaking to ABC News just two days after Trump took the oath of office she said:
“He’s not going to release his tax returns. We litigated this all through the election. People didn’t care.”
Before rolling back her comments a little later that afternoon.
On taxes, answers (& repeated questions) are same from campaign: POTUS is under audit and will not release until that is completed. #nonews
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) January 23, 2017
The anticlimactic unveiling of two pages of Donald Trump’s 2015 tax returns on MSNBC’s Rachael Maddow Show did nothing to alter the official line coming out of White House. Indeed, unofficial Spice Girl, Sean ‘Whiny Spice’ Spicer furiously lambasted MSNBC’s decision to even run with the story stating that:
“It is illegal to publish somebody’s individual tax returns. That is illegal. It is against the law. It is despicable and reprehensible. They should be ashamed of themselves and how they conducted themselves.”
Point of order, no, it’s not and no, they should not be.
No, it's not. The sec. 6103 privacy protections apply to people who have access to tax returns, (IRS worker). They don't apply to news orgs https://t.co/RDxYTgbE9u
— Stephen Ohlemacher (@stephenatap) March 15, 2017
Tax Return To Sender
Which leaves us where exactly?
Two things are clear. First, that Trump is never going to release his tax returns voluntarily which is a good thing really because it helps segue into the second point.
That we will not rest until we have them.
Kicking and screaming, pried from his miniature hands with the umbilical cord still attached, one way, or another, we will get our hands on them. Because we will never give up the fight.
Just made clear on House Floor: Produce your taxes Mr. President, or NO tax reform legislation. Period. Full Stop. pic.twitter.com/lW7PnO0G4R
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) April 3, 2017
Or course, blocking Trump’s legislative agenda is beyond the power of Democrats who hold a minority position in both houses of Congress.
But that’s hardly the point.
Because every time the issue of Trump’s taxes is brought up the flickering flame of suspicion is rekindled. With each refusal, the country is reminded that the GOP have no interest in transparency, no interest in right or wrong, honor or accountability. They care only about one thing.
Power.
Whatever Trump is hiding, the lie of his overstated wealth, bank transfers from his pal Russian President Vladimir Putin, or a tax rate so low that you could shine your shoes with it, doesn’t matter.
What matters is that we know he’s got something to hide.
And that means we’ll get them in 2018.
Watch Seth Myers theory as to why Trump won’t release his taxes
Featured image from Twitter.
