Mitt Romney: It's 'disqualifying' for Trump to withhold tax returns


Mitt Romney is reiterating his suspicions about Donald Trump's tax returns, after Trump acknowledged he probably won't release them before the November election, saying that the presumptive Republican nominee could be hiding a "bombshell of unusual size."
On his Facebook page, Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, said he believes it's "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 allow the public to have its "sole confirmation of the veracity of a candidate's representations regarding charities, priorities, wealth, tax conformance, and conflicts of interest," Romney said, and while it's not likely, "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."
Trump has said because he is being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, he won't be releasing his returns until the investigation is complete. Romney's not buying this excuse (with reason), writing, "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's just one logical explanation for Trump refusing to release the returns, Romney reasons: "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. " Romney also reminded people that when he was running, he released his 2010 tax returns in January 2012 and his 2011 tax returns in September 2012, as soon as they were completed.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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