Was Maddow’s Release of Trump’s Tax Return a Dud?

Anti-Climactic, or the Start of an Even Bigger Story?

Many people on the left and the right are attacking Rachel Maddow after she revealed Donald Trump’s tax return. There was no big ad campaign in the days leading up to the scoop, not a lot of hype, just a tweet (and a poorly worded one at that) about 90 minutes before showtime. She followed it up with this:

Sure, it was anti-climactic. There was no huge explosive revelation. He’s not going to jail as a result.

Some people say they felt cheated. Like this Fox News reporter:

Or Fox News pundit Sean Hannity, who spent 18 months working to get Trump elected.

But as Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart tweeted, journalism, actual, good journalism, takes time – and Watergate wasn’t laid out in a day.

Americans, who elected a reality TV show host (and serial liar) as president, really need to learn some patience. 

Slate’s television critic, Willa Paskin, apparently is now a Woodward and Bernstein-level investigative reporter willing to totally slam Maddow. “Rachel Maddow Turned a Scoop on Donald Trump’s Taxes Into a Cynical, Self-Defeating Spectacle,” was the piece she wrote. Thanks, but I’ll form my own opinion after reading what political journalists and legal experts, not TV critics, have to say. 

Meanwhile, Seth Abramson, a professor, attorney, journalist, and author, took to Twitter after Maddow’s show to offer up a list of why the story is incredibly important.

He says we learned a lot, including that Trump lied when he said he could not release his returns, and Maddow and Johnston’s willingness to publish the return will give other leakers courage that their efforts will be supported by the press. He also notes that Trump’s tax “reform” will benefit Trump the most.

Take a look:

What else did we learn? Contrary to what Trump hacks like Matt Schlapp and David Urban try to make people believe, the American people have incredible interest in seeing what’s in Trump’s taxes.

He should release them. At once.

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Image: Screenshot via MSNBC