Campaign Manager Now Says Trump ‘Will Not Be Releasing’ His Taxes (Video)

One Week After Receiving GOP Nomination, Days After Russian-Tied Wikileaks Email Dump

Donald Trump’s campaign manager Wednesday morning said the GOP presidential nominee “will not be releasing” his taxes. Paul Manafort told CBS News, “Mr. Trump has said that his taxes are under audit and he will not be releasing them.” Trump had actually said that he would release his taxes when an IRS audit was complete. There is no law or IRS rule prohibiting Trump from releasing his taxes, as nearly every presidential candidate and nominee have done for decades. 

The announcement comes one week after the Manhattan billionaire secured the Republican nomination for president, and just days after Wikileaks released Democratic emails after, as leading cyber security experts believe, Russia hacked the DNC’s servers. 

Trump has praised Vladimir Putin, and the Russian President has complimented the real estate magnate.

But the campaign’s decision to not release Trump’s taxes “has nothing to do with Russia, it has nothing to do with any country other than the United States and his normal tax auditing process,” Manafort insisted.

CBS News reporter Norah O’Donnell pressed Manafort on the Russia issue.

“So to be clear, Mr. Trump has no financial relationships with any Russian oligarchs?”

“That’s what he said, that’s what I said,” Manafort said, apparently with a note of apprehension. “That’s obviously what our position is.”

Donald Trump Jr., MSNBC reports, has stated otherwise, specifically saying Russian investments are fueling the Trump Organization.

Trump has refused to release IRS letters proving he actually is under audit, but did release a letter from his tax attorneys saying he is under audit. There is no method of publicly verifying an audit or when it is complete. 

 

Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license
Hat tip: The Hill