Key House Democrat Formally Asks For Trump's Tax Returns

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fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
88,249
55,798
136
why do the righties not want his taxes released? Do they think he is a lying crook but dont care?

I'm sure if Obama had a web of hundreds of opaque LLCs that he owned where it would be impossible to tell if someone was bribing him that Republicans would have been fine with that.

After all if there's one thing Republicans have its integrity.
 

Fern

Elite Member
Sep 30, 2003
26,907
174
106
-snip-



Legally it would not matter. You are ultimately responsible for your tax returns, no matter who does them. In the end Trump himself has to sign the form saying that he has reviewed the forms, and vows that all the information reported is accurate and that he approves of it.

Um, yes, yes it does.

Hiring a licensed, reputable preparer (lawyer, CPA, enrolled agent) and providing them all your data and not lying or misleading them in any way means you demonstrate "good faith" and "due diligence". That'll even get out of penalties, forget being charged with civil or criminal tax fraud/evasion.

Fern
 
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Fern

Elite Member
Sep 30, 2003
26,907
174
106
It's possible that Trump's people refuse to comply and then the House has two options which aren't mutually exclusive. Anyone who prevents the lawful release to the appropriate person under law can be hauled off to the Congressional jail to live out their lives or comply.
-snip-

IDK, but I don't think so.

We watched Eric Holder ignore Congressional subpoenas, be held in contempt by Congress etc etc. Not a damn ever happened to him.

Congress is toothless.

Fern
 

Thump553

Lifer
Jun 2, 2000
12,839
2,625
136
Um, yes, yes it does.

Hiring a licensed, reputable preparer (lawyer, CPA, enrolled agent) and providing them all your data and not lying or misleading them in any way means you demonstrate "good faith" and "due diligence". That'll even get out of penalties, forget being charged with civil or criminal tax fraud/evasion.

Fern

I understand you are stating it hypothetically, but the chances that Individual One would NOT lie to his tax preparers are so slim as to not be measurable.
 

sportage

Lifer
Feb 1, 2008
11,492
3,163
136
Trump probably does not want his tax returns made public not so much for concealing criminal activity, Donald Trump is afraid people will discover that Donald Trump isn't worth near what he claims he is worth.
The average Joe citizen doesn't care if Donald is worth 1 billion or 1 million, but Vladimir Putin would be laughing his ass off if Trump's true net worth ever got out.
 

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
16,242
14,245
136
I understand you are stating it hypothetically, but the chances that Individual One would NOT lie to his tax preparers are so slim as to not be measurable.

I'd say the chances of Individual 1 not lying to anyone he speaks to about anything, at any time, on any topic, are pretty slim. I'm starting to think that Individual 1 has a pathological fear of the truth monster. It must have been what Individual 1 thought was in his closet and under his bed when he was a child. Probably chased him in his dreams, while he felt increasingly like he was running in quicksand.
 

trenchfoot

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
16,134
8,726
136
Trump probably does not want his tax returns made public not so much for concealing criminal activity, Donald Trump is afraid people will discover that Donald Trump isn't worth near what he claims he is worth.
The average Joe citizen doesn't care if Donald is worth 1 billion or 1 million, but Vladimir Putin would be laughing his ass off if Trump's true net worth ever got out.

Of more interest to me is just how much in debt he is to the Russian oligarchs that are closely tied to Putin and what kind of deals Jared had made with the Saudi royals since his daddy-in-law took office.
 

trenchfoot

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
16,134
8,726
136
I'd say the chances of Individual 1 not lying to anyone he speaks to about anything, at any time, on any topic, are pretty slim. I'm starting to think that Individual 1 has a pathological fear of the truth monster. It must have been what Individual 1 thought was in his closet and under his bed when he was a child. Probably chased him in his dreams, while he felt increasingly like he was running in quicksand.


Seeing as if Trump's whole career in business has been his attempts at to keeping a step ahead of the avalanche of lies and deceptions and failures that he's managed to pile up behind him, it looks like he's getting tired and careless and has taken to sitting on that mountain of falsehoods and fakery he's built from his past and simply not caring any more about keeping ahead of all of it.

Now, concerning the matter of Mueller being the monster chasing Trump on that treadmill he's been on since day 1 of his tenure, well it seems like Trump's heels are now barely keeping ahead of the back end of it and he is about to do a nice olympic style over-the-hurdle face plant in the very near future.

One can hope.
 
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fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
88,249
55,798
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Matt Yglesias mentioned something very interesting, that Republicans are furiously defending Trump’s cover up but they don’t even know what it is that they’re helping him hide. It could be really bad!
 

kage69

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
31,730
48,550
136
The Hill: GOP senator rips Dem rep seeking Trump taxes: 'It must really suck to be that dumb' | TheHill.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate...ng-trump-taxes-it-must-really-suck-to-be-that

Lol....

AHAHAHA I fucking LOVE how the sleazy republicans are trying to make tax release out to be some egregious, politically motivated invasion into people's lives, when it's been a standard release for all runners for decades.

That poor, poor chicken. This is why you don't get behind a mentally unstable crook and a liar republicans.
 

JEDI

Lifer
Sep 25, 2001
29,391
2,738
126
Analysis: Law is on Democratic chairman's side:
https://wtop.com/white-house/2019/04/heres-how-the-battle-for-trumps-tax-returns-could-play-out/

“Congress is there to have oversight of the executive branch, and President Trump is the most important player in the executive branch.”

The very purpose of the tax code provision Neal wants to exercise was written with the express intention of executive branch oversight, in the wake of the 1920s Teapot Dome scandal, Rosenthal said. “If you look to the legislative context for why this statute exists, and then why Neal is asking, there is not any credible argument to refute the request.”

Trump is trying to delay this as long as possible:
“I think the administration’s strategy,” Rosenthal continued, “is to run out the clock and try to get past the election.


now there's the question:
what can the Dems do about it if the IRS refuses the House's demands?

can Trump just delay till his term is up?
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
22,473
6,561
136
How dare the Democrats try to find out who is bribing the president!

It is absolutely amazing how completely the republicans abandoned even the pretense of responsible government under Trump.
Do you really expect to see a line item on Trumps tax returns labeled "bribes"?

The belief that there is a smoking gun in returns filed with the IRS is absurd.
 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
88,249
55,798
136
Do you really expect to see a line item on Trumps tax returns labeled "bribes"?

The belief that there is a smoking gun in returns filed with the IRS is absurd.

Honestly your thinking that there’s nothing in them is the real absurdity. Now what people define as a ‘smoking gun’ is up for debate but it is highly likely we will find entanglement with criminal activity at a minimum. Anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional. All you need to do is look at Trump’s publicly known history to know that.

Regardless, even if we don’t find a single thing it is an absolutely VITAL good governance measure to know who is putting money in the president’s pocket. Anyone with even a shred of integrity should be able to admit that.

Edit: I mean as recently as last year we learned that Trump engaged in what was very likely massive tax fraud with his father a few decades back. Does anyone really think Trump suddenly became more law abiding since then?
 

trenchfoot

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
16,134
8,726
136
Analysis: Law is on Democratic chairman's side:
https://wtop.com/white-house/2019/04/heres-how-the-battle-for-trumps-tax-returns-could-play-out/

“Congress is there to have oversight of the executive branch, and President Trump is the most important player in the executive branch.”

The very purpose of the tax code provision Neal wants to exercise was written with the express intention of executive branch oversight, in the wake of the 1920s Teapot Dome scandal, Rosenthal said. “If you look to the legislative context for why this statute exists, and then why Neal is asking, there is not any credible argument to refute the request.”

Trump is trying to delay this as long as possible:
“I think the administration’s strategy,” Rosenthal continued, “is to run out the clock and try to get past the election.


now there's the question:
what can the Dems do about it if the IRS refuses the House's demands?

can Trump just delay till his term is up?

Or worse still, after he gets reelected, of which I think is his present tunnel vision goal in life. I believe he is having nightmares over the idea that once he gets out of office he will be buck nekkid exposed to the multitude of damning indictments waiting for him in states courts.
 

JEDI

Lifer
Sep 25, 2001
29,391
2,738
126
Or worse still, after he gets reelected, of which I think is his present tunnel vision goal in life. I believe he is having nightmares over the idea that once he gets out of office he will be buck nekkid exposed to the multitude of damning indictments waiting for him in states courts.
the emperor has no clothes and everyone pointing/laughing at him.

yeah, I can see how his thin-skinned personality will have a mental meltdown and he'll curdle up in a ball and start crying
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
22,473
6,561
136
Honestly your thinking that there’s nothing in them is the real absurdity. Now what people define as a ‘smoking gun’ is up for debate but it is highly likely we will find entanglement with criminal activity at a minimum. Anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional. All you need to do is look at Trump’s publicly known history to know that.

Regardless, even if we don’t find a single thing it is an absolutely VITAL good governance measure to know who is putting money in the president’s pocket. Anyone with even a shred of integrity should be able to admit that.

Edit: I mean as recently as last year we learned that Trump engaged in what was very likely massive tax fraud with his father a few decades back. Does anyone really think Trump suddenly became more law abiding since then?
I don't think you understand what will be in his tax return. If you were to look at my tax return you wouldn't be able to tell where my income came from. Not one single cent of it.
 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
88,249
55,798
136
I don't think you understand what will be in his tax return. If you were to look at my tax return you wouldn't be able to tell where my income came from. Not one single cent of it.

Don’t worry, I understand it. His tax returns will include income from a large number of LLCs, each of which has its own tax documents. You then look at those tax documents to look at who is paying those, which is probably a bunch of other LLCs, etc. It’s simply the first step in unraveling the web of shit that Trump is likely involved in.

We both agree that Trump appears likely to have engaged in criminal tax fraud in the past, right? The evidence on that is pretty strong. Do you honestly think he stopped committing tax fraud after he got his dad’s money? Does that seem likely to you?

Again though, all that aside, shouldn’t we as a nation absolutely demand that we know who is putting money in the president’s pocket? Shouldn’t we have laws that mandate total disclosure?
 

sactoking

Diamond Member
Sep 24, 2007
7,651
2,933
136
I don't think you understand what will be in his tax return. If you were to look at my tax return you wouldn't be able to tell where my income came from. Not one single cent of it.
It used to be, back in the old days, in the long, long ago, in the before time, when you filled your return you had to attach a copy of your W2 to the return. Nowadays, with the prevalence of digital ckearinghouses like ADP that's not necessary. But it is still possible to match gross income on a return to specific sources.

And that doesn't count the K-1s from LLCs and S-corps, each of which have to file their own returns. Those returns have to provide more detail on schedules. So it is quite possible to get more information from a return.
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,954
6,796
126
Trump has no shame but only because he lives behind a self created illusion of pride, his carefully curated brand name. If we knew what he makes and what he pays in taxes, he still wouldn't know any shame but he knows that delusion that of pride he maintains that the nobodies of the world are so impressed by would turn to scorn and expose him to their seething bitterness.