Kellyanne Conway flatly states that President Trump won't release his tax returns

The most popular petition on the Trump White House's "We the People" petition page is a demand that President Trump release his tax returns, so Americans can judge whether he's complying with the Constitution — so far it has 260,000 signatories. After 100,000 signers, the White House has to issue an official response, George Stephanopoulos reminded Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway on Sunday's This Week. "The White House response is that he's not going to release his tax returns," Conway said. "We litigated this all through the election. People didn't care. They voted for him, and let me make this very clear: Most Americans are very focused on what their tax returns will look like while President Trump is in office, not what his look like."

According to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, 74 percent of Americans — including 49 percent of Trump supporters — want Trump to release his tax returns. In a Pew poll, 60 percent of respondents said Trump has an obligation to release his returns. Conway, notably, did not bring up the unpersuasive excuse that Trump's returns are under audit. Conway also told Stephanopoulos that "President Trump and his family are complying with all the ethical rules, everything they need to do to step away from his businesses and be a full-time president." According to ProPublica, there is no record that Trump has handed over control of his companies, as promised.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up