GOP Rep. Steve King of Iowa said the window for Donald Trump to release his taxes has come and gone, saying even if an audit of Mr. Trump’s figures is completed, releasing them now would create a feeding frenzy this late in the political season.
“I just think the window for that has passed,” Mr. King said Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“When he said that he wouldn’t release his returns until the audit was over and he’d been being audited for 13 years, I’d say that for him to release them is just a foregone conclusion,” he said. “Donald Trump will not release his tax returns.”
“If he were going to do that, he should have done that … months ago so there was time to digest it,” Mr. King said.
“If he drops it now, into this presidential, intense sprint around the final turn part of the race, I think that that would be the only discussion we would hear all the way until November, judging by the way the media has treated him in the last few weeks,” Mr. King said.
Partly to put some pressure on Mr. Trump, Hillary Clinton’s campaign on Friday released Mrs. Clinton’s 2015 return and 10 years of returns for Sen. Tim Kaine, her running mate. Last year, her campaign had released personal returns for Mrs. Clinton covering the years 2007-2014.
Over the weekend, Mr. Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, hinted that he might release his taxes soon as well.
“I believe we’re completing those forms right now, as is appropriate under federal law, and we’ll be filing that,” Mr. Pence told WABC radio’s Rita Cosby.
“I promise you, when my forms are filed and my tax returns are released, it’s going to be a quick read,” Mr. Pence said. “The Pences have not become more wealthy as a result of 16 years in public service.”
“We’ll look forward to making that information available,” he said.
Mr. Trump has said he’s been advised not to release his taxes while he’s being audited.
Billionaire Warren Buffett, who’s supporting Mrs. Clinton, says he’s being audited, too, and has offered to hold a joint press conference with Mr. Trump to face questions about their taxes together.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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