According to President Donald Trump, he cannot safely release his income tax returns because he’s under audit from the IRS. It’s a bogus excuse, because any taxpayer is free to share their tax documents, even when they’re being audited.
But based on comments Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, made Wednesday morning on “Fox & Friends,” it seems that the IRS has complete its audit. Giuliani remarked:
“The IRS has investigated his taxes. They exist to come after us if we don’t pay our taxes. We know they’re damn good and they’re confidential and they don’t leak. If they haven’t gone after him on taxes, for that six-year period, then there is nothing wrong with his taxes.”
Giuliani then noted that Congressional Democrats only want access to Trump’s taxes so they can embarrass him. But that’s a specious argument because federal law gives the chairman of the House or Senate Ways and Means Committee the right to see any taxpayer’s returns. Even the president’s:
“They can’t investigate his taxes better than the IRS. They want his taxes to embarrass him.”
Actually, they want them so they can determine if the president has financial ties to countries such as Russia or Saudi Arabia. Such connections could impact American foreign policy and national security.
Keep in mind that Trump has used the audit excuse many times in the past, ThinkProgress notes:
“Every other modern president has voluntarily released his tax returns — and during his 2016 campaign for the presidency, Trump initially promised to do so as well. But Trump hasn’t followed through, repeatedly claiming that he cannot be transparent with the American people until the conclusion of what he calls a “routine audit” by the Internal Revenue Service. (The IRS has stated that no law prohibits releasing a tax return that is under audit, and Trump has never offered any evidence to back up his audit claim.)”
If the president is really under audit, then why not produce the letter saying so? And if he isn’t, as his attorney asserts, then what’s the hold up? Only a guilty man tries this hard to hide his finances.
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