White House officials want you to stop asking about Donald Trump’s tax returns.
During an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC's This Week, the president’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway announced these documents would never be released, contrary to what Trump said during the campaign season.
“The White House response is that he’s not going to release his tax returns,” Conway said on This Week. “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, however, most Americans do care about Trump’s tax returns, specifically his personal investments. The poll, which was published Monday, revealed 74 percent of U.S. citizens believe the president should release these documents. On the day of Trump’s inauguration, a White House petition was launched calling for the immediate release of his tax returns “to verify emoluments clause compliance.” The petition has since garnered more than 200,000 signatures, but Conway insists the public isn't concerned.
“You know full well 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,” Conway said.
Though presidents aren’t legally required to present their tax returns, Trump was the first major party nominee since 1972 to not voluntarily release them. Throughout his campaign, the former reality TV star promised he would release the documents after a routine audit was completed. But it appears, that won’t happen.
“I don’t mind releasing,” Trump announced during his first president debate against Hillary Clinton. “I’m under a routine audit. And it’ll be released. And as soon as the audit’s finished, it will be released.”
IRS officials have previously stated that there is nothing preventing Trump for sharing his tax returns—even while they were under audit.
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