Donald Trump's longtime accountant disputes Trump's 'brilliant' grasp of the tax code


Donald Trump's most recent response to the publication in The New York Times of 1995 personal state tax returns showing him reporting a $916 million loss — meaning he could have avoided paying federal income tax for 18 years — is that he "brilliantly" used the tax system to his advantage. "I understand the tax laws better than almost anyone, which is why I am one who can truly fix them,” Trump said Monday in Pueblo, Colorado. "I understand it. I get it." His former accountant, Jack Mitnick, says that's not true, or wasn't when he prepared Trump's taxes from the 1960s to 1996.
Mitnick has been making the rounds, and he told both The New York Times and NBC News that Fred Trump, Trump's dad, was interested in the details of tax policy but Donald Trump was not, and the only questions asked when Donald and his first wife, Ivana, came in to sign their returns were asked by Ivana. When Inside Edition asked Mitnick if he thought Trump was "brilliant" in his use of the tax system in 1996, Mitnick laughed: "No, I did all the tax preparation. He never saw the product until it was presented to him for signature." He wouldn't speculate who would have leaked the returns, saying only that all the copies were turned over to Trump, and he wouldn't say who he is voting for in November, saying only, "That's confidential." Peter Weber
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Peter Mandelson called Epstein his 'best pal' in birthday note
Speed Read The UK's ambassador to Washington described the late convicted paedophile as an 'intelligent, sharp-witted man'
-
A Spinal Tap reunion, Thomas Pynchon by way of Paul Thomas Anderson and a harrowing Stephen King adaptation in September movies
the week recommends This month's new releases include 'Spinal Tap II,' 'One Battle After Another' and 'The Long Walk'
-
'Vampire energy' could be causing your electric bill to rise
Under the Radar Wasted energy could account for up to 10% of home use
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year