Next Stop, The Twilight Zone: Romney Says Trump Disqualified For Not Releasing Tax Returns

Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:58 pm

Mitt Romney of all people is claiming that Donald Trump has disqualified himself from the presidency by refusing to release his tax returns.

After Trump announced that he won’t be releasing any of his tax returns until after the election, Romney wrote on Facebook:

It is disqualifying for a modern-day presidential nominee to refuse to release tax returns to the voters, especially one who has not been subject to public scrutiny in either military or public service. Tax returns provide the public with its sole confirmation of the veracity of a candidate’s representations regarding charities, priorities, wealth, tax conformance, and conflicts of interest. Further, while not a likely circumstance, the potential for hidden inappropriate associations with foreign entities, criminal organizations, or other unsavory groups is simply too great a risk to ignore for someone who is seeking to become commander-in-chief.

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Mr. Trump says he is being audited. So? There is nothing that prevents releasing tax returns that are being audited. Further, he could release returns for the years immediately prior to the years under audit. There is only one logical explanation for Mr. Trump’s refusal to release his returns: there is a bombshell in them. Given Mr. Trump’s equanimity with other flaws in his history, we can only assume it’s a bombshell of unusual size.

(Anticipating inquiries regarding my own tax release history, I released my 2010 tax returns in January of 2012 and I released my 2011 tax returns as soon as they were completed, in September of 2012.)

Mitt Romney, who stalled, made up excuses, and refused to release a full disclosure of his tax returns is running around claiming that Trump can’t be president because he won’t release his tax returns. Birthers, like Donald Trump, attempted to demand Obama’s college transcripts in exchange for Romney’s tax returns. As the presumptive Republican nominee, Romney blamed Obama for his refusal to release his tax returns. Romney refused to release even five years of tax returns.

Mitt Romney is not the person to be making the argument that Donald Trump is disqualified from the presidency because he won’t release his tax returns. In fact, Romney is one of the last people in the world who should be discussing releasing tax returns.

The Republicans have dragged the American people into some kind of bizarre Twilight Zone where Mitt Romney is the moral compass of the GOP. The last thing that Republicans needed was their former tax dodging nominee telling their current tax dodging nominee that he has disqualified himself by not releasing his tax returns.

Every single day, the Republican Party manages to find a new way to make things worse for themselves.

We really have entered a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man, and it is called The Republican Zone.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association