All the hallmarks of a "Modified Limited Hangout"

[pat_k]

It all went down in a very predictable way that benefits DT.

It wouldn't have mattered who went public with the leak of the 1040. The "hype" was inevitable. As was the "nothing to see here" let down. We'll never know, but leaking the 1040 without schedules is definitely the sort of "Modified Limited Hangout" DT would pull.

1. He knows such a "leak' -- even without schedules -- would get the spotlight (And he helped shine that light with his "Rachel is a criminal" press release).

2. He knows that a 1040 without schedules says very little, and so any bruhaha would be seen as "overblown." (And I would guess that 2005 paints a better picture for Trump that any other return in the past couple decades.)

3. He knows this would get coded in the public mind as a "Tax return release event" that ended up with "nothing to see here" It sets up the expectation that if other returns are ever released, those 'release events" will also end with "nothing to see here." Of course, this was not actually a "Tax return release event" because it didn't include schedules, but that doesn't stop our brains from generalizing. It's what our brains do.

Rachel could have handled it differently, or somebody else on some other network could have "run with it." The outcome would have been the same. If she hadn't posted the teaser tweet, DT would still have "gotten word" and issued the press release to generate hype. It would have unfolded in the same way.

[KittyWampus]

1. No, this doesn't get "coded in the public mind as tax release event". Anymore than the last one did.

I posted a recent poll saying 74% of Americans want Trump to release his taxes.

This whole thing doesn't help Trump.

Not during tax season.

BTW, when was the last time 74% of Americans agreed on anything?

[pat_k]

5. Hope you are right!

[caroldansen]

2. If you want to create a diversion you make them look in a different direction. He didn't send them.

He wants that subject to go away. But it won't. He doesn't want any attention on that subject. I have a feeling he's not sleeping very well lately. I wonder why. He's getting
scared.

[pat_k]

7. I would like to be wrong.

As I noted in a post below, it seemed to me that there was a whole lot more "hey, nothing to see here" reaction than a shift of attention back to the need to get all parts of all the returns going back at least a couple decades. I hope this "leak" does get people looking in the right direction.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I don't agree. While it's possible Trump leaked the 1040 himself,

Rachel knows that. She used the document to resurrect the issue of Trump's failure to release his returns, and the increased need for the public to see them in light of increased evidence that there's funny business with Russia. I think she and the following shows on MSNBC (O'Donnell and Williams), along with their guests, discussed what the 1040 does and does not reveal. It is interesting that although the WH released one of its usual blustery statements, including the false claim that it was illegal for MSNBC to show the return (it's not), we haven't seen any demented tweets from SCROTUS himself yet. Does this mean he was the source of the document and that he's pleased that his "shiny object" got air time?

I have to think that even if he did send the 1040 to Johnston himself, maybe intending to create a distraction, it was a mistake because it raises the once-dormant issue of his failure to release his complete returns. Rachel et al. made the point that it's more important than ever to see them, and he can't possibly be liking that.

[KittyWampus]

4. Kurt Eichenwald pointed outTrump lied about his net worth

It's much, much less than he's said in the past.

[uponit7771]

10. +1

[pat_k]

6. "because it raises the once-dormant issue of his failure to release his complete returns"

Last edited Wed Mar 15, 2017, 02:51 AM - Edit history (1)

I hope so.

It seemed to me that here has been a lot more "nothing to see here" reaction than "he needs to release the whole return." I hope that appearance is just superficial, and that this incident does breathe life into the push to get his tax returns released.

[Turbineguy]

8. Two pages.

That's the IRS equivalent of a bumpersticker.

There's plenty more information out there.

[FSogol]

9. Fail. Trumpy and his accomplices aren't masterminds.

[Warren DeMontague]

11. I still suspect Karl Rove fed Dan Rather a fake docu-scandal story in 2004 to "neutralize"

Dubya's Vietnam Issue, too.

So, yeah.