No Disclosure: Presidential Candidates Defy Tradition, Refuse to Release Taxes

[DeepModem Mom]

ABC News: No Disclosure: Presidential Candidates Defy Tradition, Refuse to Release Taxes
Since Watergate, Only Clinton Refused to Release Income Information
By JENNIFER RUBIN
May 11, 2007

Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.,worked for a hedge fund while heading a poverty center in between his presidential campaigns. But since he isn't telling, voters can't know how much money he earned.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., says his wife, Ann, once donated to Planned Parenthood, but that he never contributed to an abortion-rights group himself. But there's no way for the media and the public to check that claim.

In a break with the tradition of recent presidential campaigns, most of the major presidential candidates aren't releasing their income-tax filings.

Edwards has indicated that he will keep his tax returns private, and while Romney is still considering his options, he has never released his returns in previous runs for office.

Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., aren't saying whether they will or not, but neither has released income tax forms filed this year.

That means voters are likely to know less about the income sources, personal wealth and charitable inclinations of the presidential candidates than in any election in the past generation....

***

...as the 2008 election draws near, the only top-tier candidate who has committed to releasing his 1040 forms is Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who already made public the return he filed this year....

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3165953&page=1

[Demeter]

1. Okay, Now I'm Getting Mad

What could be concealed that is WORSE than the act of concealment? I was leaning towards Edwards, but this really tears it. Obama, my second choice, is looking real good right now...

[w4rma]

7. I'm not concerned. I think he'll probably end up releasing them.

And I also think that the nit-pickers will come out and say 'look how much his house cost', 'look how much his hair cost', 'look how much money he made at the hedge fund because his predictions about the future were so accurate (if bleak)' (he only worked as a consultant to them to explain to them how the economy was tanking to help give them clues as to how to invest and make money during our tanking economy).

I don't expect to see much else of anything on his tax return except information about the program he started in one area that gave all the children there full college tuition for their first year that he wants to expand to the entire U.S.

[babylonsister]

2. Is that legal? I guess it must be, and maybe we shouldn't know,

but I don't ever recall it being an issue before.

[Adelante]

3. Unacceptable

Absolutely unacceptable. We need MORE transparency in elections, not less.

[Totally Committed]

4. All that's missing is...

"We're all they've got... who else are you going to vote for?"

TC

[Adelante]

6. I was looking forward to the filings for another reason, too

I've seen a half dozen posts or more recently that claim all of the candidates are about equal in their personal wealth, obviously leaving out Kucinich and Gravel. But there was no data posted to back up the claim. It did make me curious. In 2004, we knew who had what, because it was an issue of transparency that most of the candidates were making an effort to meet. I have no idea who has what personal wealth in this primary season, not really, and if this story is factual, we may not know. But all of the candidates will have a choice to make. We will see who does what. I feel similarly about corporate bundlers, which as far as I'm concerned is nothing but a loop hole to allow for burying what would be PAC/Lobby donations. Even if there is no law covering these bundled donations, candidates should have the integrity to make them public on their own. Oh, well, fat chance, eh?

[Toots]

5. "Only Clinton Refused to Release Income Information"

I somehow doubt that claim. I do not recall any big hub ub over Clinton not releasing tax returns. Believe me if he hadn't the Republicans would have raised holy hell. How did they know of Hillary's $100,000. futures deal? I call bullshit...

[mnhtnbb]

8. Edwards plans to release income from hedge fund when he releases

financial disclosure forms May 15 according to this story


"Edwards, a multimillionaire after years as a trial lawyer, would not disclose how much he got paid for a year of consulting beginning in October 2005. He said the amount will be revealed when he releases his financial disclosure forms due May 15."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070509/ap_on_el_pr/edwards_ap_interview_8

Found this info in a post on Edwards website.

http://blog.johnedwards.com/story/2007/5/9/14431/00390

[mnhtnbb]

9. I wouldn't be surprised if the author of the article never contacted

all the campaigns.