Hey, whatever in the world of high-powered accounting happened to the cries for Donald J. Trump’s tax returns? You remember that, right?
Many of us wondered why Trump wouldn’t release his returns, as presidents and presidential candidates had done since 1976. Trump at first said he would; then he backed off; then he pledged to release them once the taxman completed his audit; then he backed off … again!
Courts have ruled he had to release them. He continues to resist.
Wait a second, though. We’ve been buried up to here with other sorts of finance-related news involving Trump. The New York attorney general has sued the Trump Organization for $250 million, alleging that Trump falsified his net worth to obtain favorable loans.
And then — of course! — we have a myriad of criminal investigations into Trump’s conduct during the 2020 election and immediately after the election that he lost to President Joe Biden.
I remain one of the millions of curious Americans who wants to know:
- Whether Donald Trump is as rich as he kept bragging about.
- How much, if anything, he gave to charitable causes.
- The extent of his foreign business dealings and whether he does business with despicable tyrants in, say, Russia.
Those are three items. You likely have more issues to resolve with this guy.
Trump has defied conventional presidential wisdom at so many levels. The tax return issue is just one of them.
The issue of the tax returns has been eclipsed, or so it appears, by all those other matters involving Trump, The Big Lie, the insurrection, falsifying assets, conspiracy to commit sedition.
Good grief, all those other matters seem to make Trump’s refusal to disclose his tax returns seem almost … quaint. Actually, though, it isn’t. Trump’s refusal to do what so many previous presidents and candidates for the high office have done speaks mightily of his lack of character.