The Briefing Room
General Category => Politics/Government => Topic started by: SirLinksALot on January 23, 2017, 02:08:39 am
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SOURCE: BUSINESS INSIDER
URL: http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-release-tax-returns-kellyanne-conway-2017-1 (http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-release-tax-returns-kellyanne-conway-2017-1)
by Alex Lockie
In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week," Donald Trump's senior adviser Kellyanne Conway attempted to put the issue of Trump's tax returns to bed by declaring unequivocally that he will not release the documents.
Stephanopoulos asked Conway about the White House's response to 100,000 people petitioning the White House for Trump to release his full tax returns "with all information needed to verify emoluments clause compliance."
"The White House response is that he's not going to release his tax returns. We litigated this all through the election. People didn't care. They voted for him," said Conway.
Conway went on to suggest that the American people want Trump to lower taxes, not to release his own tax returns.
"Let me make this very clear. Most Americans are very focused on what their tax returns will look like while President Trump is in office, not what his look like," said Conway.
Contrary to Conway's claims, an ABC News/Washington Post poll released on Monday found that 74% of Americans say Trump should release his tax returns.
Additionally, a December poll indicated that 65% of Americans were at least "somewhat concerned" about Trump's conflicts of interest.
Conway pointed to the Trump family's efforts to eliminate conflicts of interest between Trump's business empire and his standing as president, which experts have questioned.
"Tragically, the Trump plan to deal with his business conflicts announced today falls short in every respect," said Norman Eisen, former Special Counsel for Ethics and Government Reform in President Barack Obama's administration, according to the New Yorker's Ryan Lizza.
Also in December, lawmakers from several states proposed legislation that would prevent presidential candidates from appearing on their states' ballots unless the candidates release their tax returns, Reuters reports.
Furthermore, Conway's statement contradicts Trump's campaign promise to release his tax returns after the IRS completed a routine audit of his finances.
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No big deal. We are used to Trump giving the middle finger to anything that establishes an ethical direction.
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Remember when he dared hellary to release her emails and he'd release his tax returns in that debate, he wouldn't have released them even then, we all know that dark secrets lie in there, besides his cheap charity giving, that would shine an unfavorable light on his business acumen or he would have released them a year and a half ago.
This dog don't bark.
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I don't care about his taxes. Never did.
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I don't care about his taxes. Never did.
So you don't care if there are any COI issues that might help DJT benefit from his position of POTUS?
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So you don't care if there are any COI issues that might help DJT benefit from his position of POTUS?
Yes.
But, realistically - name one president in the last 100 years who didn't walk out of the WH substantially wealthier than he went in (anyone who says FDR, because he rolled out, gets a slap).
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So you don't care if there are any COI issues that might help DJT benefit from his position of POTUS?
I don't believe for a minute that he ran to become President to benefit financially from it. There is absolutely no requirement to release your taxes to run for President. The people who voted for him decided they didn't care. Maybe in four years they will. :shrug:
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So you don't care if there are any COI issues that might help DJT benefit from his position of POTUS?
There will always be COI with Trump, he just made gazillions on his new Hotel which is a violation of the original contract with the Govt., His brand will be worth double when he leaves the White House which will mean it's finally worth what he's been claiming it was all these years.
(http://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-my-counsel-advises-me-that-there-is-no-controlling-legal-authority-or-case-that-says-that-there-was-al-gore-306380.jpg)
He'll get his Foundation turned back on and pardon his daughters father in law, it's called politics and there isn't a damn thing we can do about it other than the ballot box.
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Yes.
But, realistically - name one president in the last 100 years who didn't walk out of the WH substantially wealthier than he went in (anyone who says FDR, because he rolled out, gets a slap).
Good points, but by going stealth DJT may put an exponential spin on your description of "substantial".... Illions with a "b" rather than an "m".
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Yes.
But, realistically - name one president in the last 100 years who didn't walk out of the WH substantially wealthier than he went in (anyone who says FDR, because he rolled out, gets a slap).
Well in this case FDR was carried out in a coffin.
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So you don't care if there are any COI issues that might help DJT benefit from his position of POTUS?
Pardon me for butting in here, but I agree with beandog. I don't care about seeing his tax records. I don't feel that I have any right to see them, nor he to see mine. Of course, if I felt that I needed to see them for him to earn my vote, I could certainly choose not to vote for him. He's free to release his tax records, or not, and I'm free to vote for him, or not.
As far as conflict of interest, I'm sure there's a Congressional committee for that. Of course, there's also an even chance there's a Congressional committee to investigate the fact that I may (or may not) be overdue in re-grouting my master bathroom shower stall.
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Yes.
But, realistically - name one president in the last 100 years who didn't walk out of the WH substantially wealthier than he went in (anyone who says FDR, because he rolled out, gets a slap).
JFK?
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Good points, but by going stealth DJT may put an exponential spin on your description of "substantial".... Illions with a "b" rather than an "m".
Stealth and the current president ... not exactly two concepts that sit comfortably together in my head. He's many things (quite a few less than admirable) but sneaky isn't really one of them.
But yeah - I'd like to know. I do think the people have a right to know if ANYONE in office is enriching themselves at public expense, either directly or indirectly. Not binding the mouths of the kine that thresh the grain is all very well, but you don't let them eat the entire crop.
Well in this case FDR was carried out in a coffin.
A mere detail. It was carried. :beer:
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A mere historical notation, not denying the fact most all modern day Presidents leave office way better financially than they went in.
Harry S Truman
Upon leaving the presidency, Truman returned to Independence, Missouri, to live at the Wallace home he and Bess had shared for years with her mother.[219] Once out of office, Truman quickly decided that he did not wish to be on any corporate payroll, believing that taking advantage of such financial opportunities would diminish the integrity of the nation's highest office. He also turned down numerous offers for commercial endorsements. Since his earlier business ventures had proved unsuccessful, he had no personal savings. As a result, he faced financial challenges. Once Truman left the White House, his only income was his old army pension: $112.56 per month.[220] Former members of Congress and the federal courts received a federal retirement package; President Truman himself ensured that former servants of the executive branch of government received similar support. In 1953, however, there was no such benefit package for former presidents,[221] and he received no pension for his Senate service.[222]
Truman took out a personal loan from a Missouri bank shortly after leaving office, and then found a lucrative book deal for his memoirs. For the memoirs, Truman received only a flat payment of $670,000, and had to pay two-thirds of that in tax; he calculated he got $37,000 after he paid his assistants.[223] However, the memoirs were a commercial and critical success;[224][225] they were published in two volumes in 1955 and 1956 by Doubleday (Garden City, N.Y) and Hodder & Stoughton (London): Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: Year of Decisions and Memoirs by Harry S. Truman: Years of Trial and Hope.[226][227]
The former president was quoted in 1957 as saying to then-House Majority Leader John McCormack, "Had it not been for the fact that I was able to sell some property that my brother, sister, and I inherited from our mother, I would practically be on relief, but with the sale of that property I am not financially embarrassed."[228] The following year, Congress passed the Former Presidents Act, offering a $25,000 yearly pension to each former president, and it is likely that Truman's financial status played a role in the law's enactment.[221] The one other living former president at the time, Herbert Hoover, also took the pension, even though he did not need the money; reportedly, he did so to avoid embarrassing Truman.[229]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman#Post-presidency (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman#Post-presidency)
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Way to give the media more grist for the mill. **nononono*
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Mention of Lois Lerner was conspicuously absent during his campaign, don't rile the IRS or wikileaks will publish your returns, coincidence?
Donald Trump’s nominee for US Treasury secretary wants a bigger IRS
Written by Tim Fernholz
January 19, 2017
Donald Trump’s oft-used excuse for not releasing his tax returns is that they are still under audit at the US Internal Revenue Service—no matter that this doesn’t prevent their release—but if his pick for Treasury secretary gets his way, the interminable audit may end sooner.
Steven Mnuchin, the investor tapped by Trump for the top job in US economic policy, told lawmakers at his confirmation hearing today (Jan. 19) that he would like to expand the workforce at the IRS and modernize technology there in order to collect more taxes.
“The IRS headcount has gone down quite dramatically, almost 30% over the last couple of years,” Mnuchin noted, pointing out that cutting a revenue-generating department was not exactly an efficient move. He made the observation in response to a question about the “tax gap,” or the difference between what should be collected and how much ends up in the government coffers.
He said that as Treasury secretary—whose remit includes tax collection—he would like to reverse those cuts and improve customer service, adding later that modernizing the agency would be “one of my great priorities.”
“I can assure you that the president-elect understands the concept of where we add people, we make money,” Mnuchin said. “That’s a very quick conversation with Donald Trump.”
Unspoken was that many of the lawmakers in the incoming president’s own party had voted in favor of the spending cuts that lead to those reductions in headcount. The IRS has seen its staffing reduced by some 13,000 employees since Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives in 2010. So far, Trump has promised to continue budget cutting at federal agencies.
<..snip..>
https://qz.com/889431/steve-mnuchin-confirmation-hearing-donald-trumps-nominee-for-us-treasury-secretary-said-he-wants-a-bigger-irs/ (https://qz.com/889431/steve-mnuchin-confirmation-hearing-donald-trumps-nominee-for-us-treasury-secretary-said-he-wants-a-bigger-irs/)
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I don't care about his taxes. Never did.
Agreed. It is just the morons who do.
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However, during the election Conway said the reason Trump wouldn't release them was due to an ongoing audit. Now it's because "people don't care."
What happened to the audit?
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However, during the election Conway said the reason Trump wouldn't release them was due to an ongoing audit. Now it's because "people don't care."
What happened to the audit?
Self answering question right?
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Pretty much the same response as any other Democrat
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Self answering question right?
Typical Trumpian lying.
Its pathological, almost like child molesters.
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Trump the lying sack of shit. Remember when it was because of a supposed audit?
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Pretty much the same response as any other Democrat
Trump is worse. They all have released their tax returns.
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Self answering question right?
@txradioguy
Yep, seems to be.
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Trump said he would release it after a supposed "audit", now this lying sack of shit will not release.
And his idiot acolytes just think we won't care.
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Trump said he would release it after a supposed "audit", now this lying sack of shit will not release.
And his idiot acolytes just think we won't care.
Based on my 25+ years of preparing tax returns, I suspect the media would feast on his charitable contributions. Could be over-reported, or the actual amounts may be much lower than his public intimations. Either way, the MSM will be fact-checking every utterance he makes in microscopic detail.
Trump made his bed...he has to govern now, the campaign is long since past.
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Based on my 25+ years of preparing tax returns, I suspect the media would feast on his charitable contributions. Could be over-reported, or the actual amounts may be much lower than his public intimations. Either way, the MSM will be fact-checking every utterance he makes in microscopic detail.
Trump made his bed...he has to govern now, the campaign is long since past.
Funny thing is that now wikileaks is calling for hackers to hunt for Trump's taxes and release them.
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Trump said he would release it after a supposed "audit", now this lying sack of shit will not release.
And his idiot acolytes just think we won't care.
I found it more amazing that we have duped folks here who feel that that Trump should be able to line his pocket with POTUS status with no disclosure or accountability. Jaw dropping if you ask me. I guess some cake loving folks in France loved Louis XVI too.
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I found it more amazing that we have duped folks here who feel that that Trump should be able to line his pocket with POTUS status with no disclosure or accountability. Jaw dropping if you ask me. I guess some cake loving folks in France loved Louis XVI too.
@catfish1957
I've seen it expressed nakedly elsewhere---"Just trust Trump." Yesterday, here, I saw a song written to Trump. Disturbing? Oh, yeah.
It's just my opinion, but I believe it's part of the human condition to long for a king to rule us. If you go back to the Old Testament, you find the Israelites clamoring for a king despite God's instructions. Certainly the United States is an exception, but the authoritarian state has pretty much been the norm throughout history.
I believe it generally requires some effort to overcome that impulse. It did with me. I wasn't political until the late nineties, and I became a fan of George W. Bush. I wasn't very informed at that point. If I had known about other forums, I would have found no problem with his "daily dose" threads, and in fact would have enthusiastically followed them.
It took some self-education to inform myself to the point where I became a Constitutionalist, not a fan of political personalities. As much as I like Ted Cruz, I wouldn't have made him into a heroic figure to adore and venerate.
IMO Trump has such a strong personality that some of his supporters can't/won't fight against that innate desire for a king. It's just too heady to give in and fall headlong into the Trump enthusiasm. So we have adoring songs written to honor him, outright admissions that he should rule as a tyrant (not on this forum), etc.
That's my two cents, and it might not be worth even that much. ^-^
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However, during the election Conway said the reason Trump wouldn't release them was due to an ongoing audit. Now it's because "people don't care."
What happened to the audit?
@CatherineofAragon
Over and over he said the returns would be released after the audit - he was lying as usual and I knew they would not be released, ever, due to his lying he is worth 10 billion dollars (numerous money men say he is not worth that much), and it would show he doesn't pay any taxes like the rest of us have to do.
Someone/group, plus Wickileaks (sp), want to find and release Trump's IRS returns. If those come out, Trump will have a "huge, great, so great", breakdown spewing anger, as he is secret about his actual self in all regards - he is a massive fake, especially about money, and that would be the truth coming out. Sooo, let's see if those records show up.
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Well one way to ensure the tax returns get released is for the Trump administration to continue their assault on the media.
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Well one way to ensure the tax returns get released is for the Trump administration to continue their assault on the media.
:amen:
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@catfish1957
I've seen it expressed nakedly elsewhere---"Just trust Trump." Yesterday, here, I saw a song written to Trump. Disturbing? Oh, yeah.
It's just my opinion, but I believe it's part of the human condition to long for a king to rule us. If you go back to the Old Testament, you find the Israelites clamoring for a king despite God's instructions. Certainly the United States is an exception, but the authoritarian state has pretty much been the norm throughout history.
I believe it generally requires some effort to overcome that impulse. It did with me. I wasn't political until the late nineties, and I became a fan of George W. Bush. I wasn't very informed at that point. If I had known about other forums, I would have found no problem with his "daily dose" threads, and in fact would have enthusiastically followed them.
It took some self-education to inform myself to the point where I became a Constitutionalist, not a fan of political personalities. As much as I like Ted Cruz, I wouldn't have made him into a heroic figure to adore and venerate.
IMO Trump has such a strong personality that some of his supporters can't/won't fight against that innate desire for a king. It's just too heady to give in and fall headlong into the Trump enthusiasm. So we have adoring songs written to honor him, outright admissions that he should rule as a tyrant (not on this forum), etc.
That's my two cents, and it might not be worth even that much. ^-^
:thumbsup:
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Agreed. It is just the morons who do.
Ok, so I'm a moron. But I'm retired and have a lot of free time on my hands. I'm just curious to know just how wealthy he is. I suspect that he isn't as wealthy as he appears. Oh, he looks the part, but I suspect he is deeply in debt. The tax returns might just give clues as to his real net worth.
That he refuses to release his returns indicates to me Trump has something to hide. I'd like to know what it is.