Dan Rather sees through Trump tax return ‘smoke screen’ as distraction from Russia and health care debacle

Legendary journalist and former CBS News anchor Dan Rather took a look at the surprising leak of the first two pages of President Donald Trump's 2005 tax returns and declared it more of "a smoke screen" than "a smoking gun."

The morning after MSNBC host Rachel Maddow hyped up a reveal of Trump's taxes --with some calling it the "Holy Grail" of Trump financial information -- Rather stated on Facebook there was no "smoking gun," in the leaked documents and the leak was intentional.

"Well the Donald Trump tax returns released last night seem more smokescreen than smoking gun. What started with suspicion of what was in them has now becomes suspicion of whether the Trump team leaked them as a diversion," Rather wrote.

He then continued, "It bears reminding that we still haven't seen any detailed filings for Mr. Trump from recent years, but in my reporter's estimation, as important as that is, there are bigger stories to which we need to be devoting attention."

According to Rather, the press needs to drill down on three topics Trump would prefer they not focus upon.

THE RUSSIA CONNECTION - a foreign power actively tried to undermine our election ... I believe it must be investigated, by the press, by law enforcement, and by an independent bipartisan commission. I suspect we have much more to find out.

HEALTH CARE - after 7 years of complaining about Obamacare, the GOP has put forward a bill that seems to please no one except maybe its leadership in Congress, and it seems, at least from his initial response, President Trump. Will the President continue to try to own an effort that is spiraling (death spiraling?) out of control? ... This is a story that couldn't be bigger in terms of policy, and politics.

NORTH KOREA - I know no one really wants to have to think about this, but we have what seems to be an increasingly provocative and potentially unstable leader armed with nuclear weapons, and missile technology that seems to be rapidly improving ... A misstep here, diplomatically or militarily, could have tremendously dire ramifications.

Rather added, "For me, these are the big three stories I'm tracking. Other ones include the rise of hate rhetoric and anti-Semitism, the willful disregard by this administration for science and climate change, and on a lighter note, the looming start of the baseball season."

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