On Tuesday, following the vote by the House Ways and Means Committee to release former President Donald Trump's tax returns to the public, CNN anchor John Berman offered a key reminder that Trump himself had promised to do this himself, repeatedly, years ago — although, Berman noted, even then, he seemed to be looking for a way out of having to do it.
"What is beyond question is when it comes to voluntarily releasing his taxes, the way every president and most presidential candidates have done since President Nixon, Donald Trump gave voters in the 2016 campaign the bait and switch," said Berman. "Because even as he was promising to release his taxes, he still managed to sprinkle in a few escape clauses here and there. In addition, some of his problems is the release of his returns overlapped with his excuses for not releasing them. It's all a bit of a mess. That said, here's the promise."
"If I decide to run for office, I'll produce my tax returns, absolutely. And I would love to do that," said Trump in one clip.
"I would certainly show tax returns if it was necessary," he said in another.
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"I'm very honest in my tax returns," he said in yet another.
"I have very big returns as you know. And I have everything all approved and very beautiful and we'll be working on it," he said in still another.
"My returns are extremely complex, and I'll make a determination at the right time. I have a very complex system of taxes," he said in a fifth clip.
In another, Trump appeared to tie the release of his tax returns to demands from his 2016 opponent, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"33,000 emails have been deleted," he said. "As soon as she releases them, I will release. I will release my tax returns."
"So that was the promise, until it wasn't," said Berman, then pivoting to the excuses Trump made for not releasing the returns.
"I'm under audit. When you're under audit, you don't do it. But I'm under audit," said Trump in one clip.
"I would love to give them, but I'm not going to do it while I'm under audit. It's very simple," he said in another.
"I'm under a routine audit, and it will be released," he echoed in another.
"As soon as the audit is finished, it will be released," he said in yet another.
"I'm not really releasing tax returns because, as you know, they're under audit," said Trump in a fifth clip.
"Actually, I paid tax. You'll see that as soon as my tax returns. It's under audit. They've been under audit for a long time. The IRS does not treat me well," he said in a sixth.
Watch the video below or at this link.
John Berman reminds Trump of promises to release his taxeswww.youtube.com
