Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsKeeping Trump's Tax Returns Secret Is an Insanely Huge Security Risk
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/05/trumps-tax-returns-secret-security-risk-russia.html?fbclid=IwAR3unP_OjwWe7IyZdEJneCSceAguCFGnZ3AudrhvrQ5JdutzhuMbodYRvtgthe national interest May 7, 2019
Keeping Trumps Tax Returns Secret Is an Insanely Huge Security Risk
By Jonathan Chait
Last year, the New York Times found that Trump had inherited more than $400 million from his father, largely through a series of illegal schemes. Now, in a new report, the Times has discovered that, from 1985 through 1994, Trump businesses suffered losses of more than $1 billion.
Its hardly a mystery why Trump is desperate to keep his tax returns secret. The most innocent narrative they might possibly reveal is that hes a horrible businessman who relied on handouts from his father. The question is why anybody else would buy this story.
Perhaps the most explosive finding in Robert Muellers investigation is that Trump was secretly negotiating a building deal in Moscow that promised profits of several hundred million dollars, with no risk. Russia habitually gives out sweetheart deals to its overseas political partners, structured in the form of putatively legitimate investments that disguise simple bribes. George Sorial, the current executive vice-president of the Trump Organization, dismisses that deal in a Wall Street Journal op-ed as a fantasy that no one in the office took seriously. (Sorial does not explain why, or even mention that, Trump signed a letter of intent for this project if nobody took it seriously.)
What the Times reporting underscores is how utterly vulnerable Trump must have been to an offer like this. The Times information covers only one (very bad) period in Trumps life, and he did recover by learning how to profit off his image as a successful businessman by renting out his name. Still, theres little reason to think he stopped being a horrible capitalist. Year after year, the Times finds, Mr. Trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer.
Keeping Trumps tax returns private is not like keeping Mitt Romneys tax returns private. This is a man who was handed hundreds of millions of dollars, flushed it down the toilet, and was desperate to maintain his image of wealth and success. You couldnt invent a more inviting target for a foreign intelligence service to manipulate.
Republicans have, incredibly, treated the question of obtaining Trumps tax returns as a pure political vendetta. Democrats dislike him with a passion, and they want his tax returns to destroy him, said Senate Finance Committee chairman Charles Grassley. Thats all that this whole process is about, and its Nixonian to the core.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
3 replies, 676 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (6)
ReplyReply to this post
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Keeping Trump's Tax Returns Secret Is an Insanely Huge Security Risk (Original Post)
babylonsister
May 2019
OP
Pelosi can shut the government down based on Red Don's tax returns and we'd win
uponit7771
May 2019
#1
Gee Chuck maybe you should ponder just how certain you seem to be that releasing
mr_lebowski
May 2019
#2
uponit7771
(90,339 posts)1. Pelosi can shut the government down based on Red Don's tax returns and we'd win
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)2. Gee Chuck maybe you should ponder just how certain you seem to be that releasing
Trump's Tax Returns ... would (or at least could) cause his 'destruction', and what the logical ramifications of that ... are.
The Blue Flower
(5,442 posts)3. Exactly
Why is the assumption that merely seeing that information would destroy Il drumpf? Grassley knows it's bad.