Thursday, December 22, 2011

Romney says he won't release tax returns; UPDATE: Gingrich campaign responds


What? When was the last time a nominee from one of the major parties declined to release their tax returns? What is Mitt trying to hide? This likely won't go over well if he is chosen to go up against Obama.
Mitt Romney, who is one of the wealthiest men ever to seek the presidency, said on Wednesday that he had no intention of releasing his tax returns if he became the Republican presidential nominee, breaking with a long tradition in both parties.

[...]

“I doubt it,” Mr. Romney said, according to a transcript of the interview provided by NBC News. “I will provide all the financial info, which is an extraordinary pile of documents which show investments and so forth.”

“But you won’t do the tax returns?” asked Chuck Todd, host of “The Daily Rundown.”

“I don’t intend to release the tax returns. I don’t,” Mr. Romney responded.

[...]

Presidential candidates from both parties — including John McCain, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Al Gore and even George Romney, Mr. Romney’s father, who ran in 1968 — have routinely released their tax returns....
Update: Gingrich's spokesperson emailed the following note to reporters:
Just in case you were curious, Newt Gingrich plans to release his income tax returns if he is the GOP nominee.

25 comments:

BOSMAN said...

Romney will provide what ever the law requires!

Anything else is extra and quite frankly none of your (or my) business.

This won't have any affect on Romney's candidacy. Did it in 2008?

Right Wingnut said...

He wasn't the nominee in 2008, so we don't know how it would have affected him.

Anonymous said...

Who cares, Obama never released his transcripts and other documents so why should Romney release all of his private information?

drob said...

What are you trying to find in Mitt's tax record. He already had to file net worth and investment to run for office. What are you wanting from his tax return?? Tax returns show things about you that need no be visible to the public.

You anti Mitt folks tried to trump up charges about his is geting money from investments in Fannie and Fredie later to find out all that money was going to charity.

If the law requires him to show his tax returns he'll do it. But casing aspersions that Mitt is doing something wrong is pure heresay.

Right Wingnut said...

All I know is that every other nominee in recent history has been expected to release theirs. Why should Mitt be different?

Tim Geitner has to release his to be the Treasury Secretary. Others have been disqualified for Cabinet positions based on the findings of their tax returns.

Right Wingnut said...

Even Palin and Biden released their tax returns in '08.

CRUZ COUNTRY said...

Presidential candidates - and Cabinet Secretary applicants - are NOT required by law to release their tax returns.

I find it quite amusing that some of the very same people who DEFENDED Obama for hiding his college records, medical records, passport & birth certificate are now DEMANDING that Romney release his tax returns.

Very amusing indeed.

Anonymous said...

I think Romney is worth a lot more than the estimates of $250-350 million. Might even be a billionaire.

Terrye said...

RWN:

Really? Every single candidate in recent memory has released all of their tax returns? Are you sure about this? It would seem to me that Romney is going to release what the law says he has to release...what more do you want?

This is stupid..you are making a fool of yourself.

BTW, I am still waiting for Gingrich to tell what he did for the 1.8 million dollars he got from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Right Wingnut said...

Terrye,

Is said "NOMINEE" not "candidate.

Your reading comprehension skills leave much to be desired.

Anonymous said...

Why's he doing this?

Bargaining chip.

he'll release it when Obama releases college transcripts. Or at least it's the wedge Romney will use to pry the secrets from Obama's past.

Pure negotiating ploy. The press will walk right into it.

Right Wingnut said...

anon at 7:36,

Yours is the first intelligent answer in the thread. That's a very good possibility.

Machtyn said...

The only answer that is needed is here: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/dec/16/democratic-national-committee/dnc-says-presidential-candidates-usually-release-t/

As it is, not every candidate or president has released these records. And as it turns out this "tradition" has only started in the 70's.

http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/web/presidentialtaxreturns

Even addressing this issue makes it a bigger deal than it already is. So I apologize for Streisand'ing this article.

Finally, I agree, RWN, the anon at 7:36 makes a very good point.

Terrye said...

RWN:

Oh really...well, he is not the nominee yet and I don't really care one way or the other..you people have had years to dig up dirt on this man and finding none you are trying to create a scandal where there is no scandal..there is a lot of stuff in tax returns that do not have to be part of the public record..if they did, it would be the law that they were released..as long as Romney obeys the law what the hell more do you want?

CRUZ COUNTRY said...

Considering the fact that the Obama administration has been the most secretive administration in American history, it will be a bit difficult for Obama to make Romney's tax returns a major issue in the general election campaign. Just a bit.

Right Wingnut said...

Newark,

You're forgetting one important detail. Obama will have a $ billion dollars and a complicit media.

Anonymous said...

I love you Uncle RW!

Anonymous said...

I think this does seem like a little bit of a problem for Romney. Since everyone is grasping at straws to take him out, this will be blown out of proportion. Kind of like the Dog on the car roof story. There's no there there, but that won't stop everyone from having fits.

-Martha

CRUZ COUNTRY said...

@ Right Wingnut

Romney is not exactly a slouch at fundraising, plus he will have the debates where he can expose Obama's hypocrisy and other failings. Fox News & talk radio commentators will also be in Romney's corner during the general election campaign.

Anonymous said...

Stay tuned for the next exciting RW expose on the candidates--er candidate. He's doing a bang-up job around here finding all the non-dirt he can on Romney. He always got those beady eye peeled for a real story, and I'm sure this one is going to be a doosie!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204791104577110643650732030.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

Oh shoot. I am all mixed up. Romney is not the historian who took 1.6 mil from Freddie right before they crashed the entire US economy. Darn! this would have been a great story if only it was about Romney!

But I'll bet the advice Newt gave Freddie was real real precious. After all, he's a genius.

-Martha

CRUZ COUNTRY said...

@ Anonymous(9:55pm)

This story will have about as much staying power as the story regarding Romney's Massachusetts staff purchasing their PC hard drives when his governorship ended. Hard to imagine that Romney is shaking in his boots worrying about this one.

Machtyn said...

newark hawk: Don't count on FoxNews. They just might try to throw the election for ratings and a chance to put a crony in 2016.

Right Wingnut said...

I'm willing to concede that Mitt may holding this as a trump card to try to get Obama to release his college transcripts. However, I can't see Mitt pulling a Donald Trump, and making a big issue out of it. If he ends up not releasing the tax returns, it could be a problem.

Terrye said...

Oh yeah...and now Gingrich..the man who can not even explain what he got paid $100 million for is going to release his tax returns? Yeah right..the ones some high priced accountant did for him..God knows what nonsense is in there.

This is the sort of stuff that RWN is forced to dig up just to make Romney look bad..who the hell is going to care? No one, but the delusional ABR people.

Terrye said...

Machtyn..there was a time when I would not have believed that Fox would do that, but I am beginning to wonder..they have an obvious anti Romney bias while at the same time all Gingrich gets out of those people is a tongue bath. But then imagine the access they would have if a former Fox analyst could get in the White House. I don't think that is ever going to happen however, whether Romney gets the nomination or not.