Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Sunday that Republican presidential rival Donald Trump is “hiding something” by not releasing his most recent tax returns, and speculated that they may reveal ties to the Mafia or support for Planned Parenthood.
“He’s clearly hiding something,” Mr. Cruz said on ABC’s “This Week.”
“[I]t could be donations to liberal groups like Planned Parenthood. At every debate, it seems, he praises Planned Parenthood. Maybe he’s written them a bunch of checks. Or, you know, maybe there are other issues,” the Texas senator said. “You know, for example, there have been multiple media reports about Donald’s business dealings with the mob, with the Mafia. Now maybe his tax returns show that those business dealings are a lot more extensive than has been reported.”
Mr. Cruz’s attack comes with Mr. Trump leading the delegate count going into Super Tuesday, the 11-state primary that could all but decide the outcome of the race for the GOP presidential nomination.
Mr. Trump’s top rivals for the nomination, Mr. Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, released summaries Saturday of their own most recent returns.
To bolster his accusation, Mr. Cruz cited an ABC News report in December over Mr. Trump’s dealings with Felix Sater, a twice-convicted Russian émigré with documented mob connections.
Mr. Trump told the Associated Press in December that he did not remember Mr. Sater, although ABC found that Mr. Sater carried a Trump Organization business card that listed his title as “senior advisor to Donald Trump.”
“You guys have reported that he’s done deals with S&A Concrete, which was owned by two of the big crime families in New York and that he’s had involvement in Atlantic City,” Mr. Cruz said Sunday. “Maybe that’s what his tax returns show. We don’t know.”
The Trump campaign did not return immediately a request for comment Sunday on the Cruz accusation.
Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Thursday called on Mr. Trump to release his tax returns, saying there is “good reason to believe that there’s a bombshell” that primary voters need to know about before casting their ballots.
Mr. Trump said Saturday on Fox News that he could not release his tax filings because he’s being audited.
“As soon as the audits are finished, I have no problem. There is no bombshell whatsoever,” Mr. Trump said, as reported by the New York Post.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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