Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean has joined the growing list of prominent political figures who believe Donald Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns suggests he’s hiding something major.
Dean, who has endorsed Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, wrote Tuesday that there are “problems” with the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s reluctance to make his tax returns public.
Trump has repeatedly said he plans to release his tax returns when they are no longer under audit by the IRS, despite reports that he previously released his tax returns to state gambling officials in Pennsylvania when applying for casino license in 2006.
“The American people should matter to Trump as much as his casinos did,” Dean argued in an op-ed for USA Today.
The former Vermont governor suggested Trump has either grossly exaggerated his personal wealth or failed to pay his “fair share” in taxes, leading to his refusal to make his tax returns available to the public.
“Perhaps Trump isn’t paying what he should,” Dean wrote. “Perhaps he’s afraid of revealing his charitable donations — or lack thereof.”
“Trump has told the Associated Press he does most of his philanthropy in his own name. Releasing his returns would show if that’s really the case,” he added.
Dean joins Clinton and former GOP nominee Mitt Romney in his push to convince voters that Trump is likely hiding something in his taxes. Romney blasted his successor last week, describing Trump’s refusal to release his returns as “disqualifying” and claiming his tax returns might contain “a bombshell of unusual size.”
“Trump shouldn’t be treated differently than every other nominee of the last four decades,” Dean wrote Tuesday. “His refusal to release his tax returns raises fundamental questions about his business career, his ethics and his ability to tell the truth.”
The Clinton campaign has cited both Romney and Dean’s comments in recent emails to reporters.
