Tim Kaine: Trump tax returns more important than Clinton Foundation donations

Sen. Tim Kaine on Monday morphed into full attack-dog mode, unleashing a torrent of criticism against Republican Donald Trump and demanding that the GOP presidential candidate release his tax returns, painting the issue as far more important than the ongoing scandal over Clinton Foundation donations.

Speaking to a crowd of iron workers at a labor union convention in Las Vegas, the Virginia Democrat said voters must see Mr. Trump’s tax returns before Election Day. He suggested that the documents will show that Mr. Trump has his own conflicts of interest that dwarf anything related to Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation.

“We’ve got to know who Donald Trump is beholden to because we don’t want to be tricked by Trump. Right now he’s refusing to tell us. … The voters deserve to know,” he said. “If you’ve played fast and loose with your taxes, the voters deserve to know it. If you spent years exaggerating how rich you are, the voters deserve to know. … It is time for Donald Trump to follow his own words, to face the music and give the American voters what we deserve: the facts.”

Mr. Kaine and Mrs. Clinton for months have pressured Mr. Trump to release his tax returns. The billionaire businessman has refused, saying he’s under IRS audit and therefore cannot release the documents.

Democrats have latched on to the issue and are using it as a weapon in their broader attempt to paint Mr. Trump as a dishonest businessman willing to lie and cheat to accomplish his objectives.

Mr. Kaine compared the tax returns issue to the Clinton Foundation and the ongoing scandal over foreign donations to the charity while Mrs. Clinton was secretary of state. The foundation last week said it would stop accepting foreign and corporate donations if Mrs. Clinton becomes president, but critics say that policy should have been in place while Mrs. Clinton was at the State Department.

A new batch of Mrs. Clinton’s emails released Monday show that Clinton confidantes tried to arrange meetings between powerful foundation supporters and the secretary, fueling the belief that there was a clear conflict of interest.

But to hear Mr. Kaine describe it, the foundation is merely an innocent charity, while Mr. Trump’s tax returns are the real issue.

“The Clinton Foundation is a nonprofit organization that is a world-class charity … And all the donors to the foundation have been disclosed and the foundation has said, ’I’ll go further, we’ll restructure [ourselves] completely if Hillary Clinton is elected president.’ Donald Trump on the other hand has told us nothing about the conflicts posed by his business dealings,” Mr. Kaine said. “Before you go about attacking a charity, why don’t you come clean about your own business dealings and tell the American people who you are in debt to?”