Thread: Romney to Reid: 'Put up or shut up' on source of 'untrue' tax claims

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Mitt Romney lashed back at Harry Reid on Thursday in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, saying the Senate majority leader needs to "put up or shut up" after airing allegations about Romney's taxes.

Reid, a Nevada Democrat, first raised eyebrows Tuesday by saying in a news interview that someone had told him Romney went 10 years without paying taxes. He would only identify his source as an investor in Romney's former venture capital firm, Bain Capital, and he acknowledged, "I'm not certain" it's true.

That didn't stop Reid from taking to the Senate floor Thursday to accuse the Republican presidential candidate again of paying no taxes, part of a broader Democratic attack on Romney for declining to release more than two years of tax documents.

"The word's out that he hasn't paid any taxes for 10 years," Reid said. "Let him prove that he has paid taxes, because he hasn't."

But Romney forcefully denied Reid's allegations on Hannity's radio show Thursday.

"Harry’s going to have to describe who it is he spoke with, because, of course, that is totally and completely wrong," Romney said. "It’s untrue, dishonest and inaccurate. It’s wrong.

"So, I’m looking forward to have Harry reveal his sources, and we will probably find out it’s the White House."

Romney's campaign earlier rejected the majority leader's statement as "shameful."

Reid also raised eyebrows for invoking Romney's late father, himself a one-time presidential candidate.

"His poor father must be so embarrassed about his son," Reid told the Huffington Post.

George Romney, a Michigan governor, released 12 years of tax returns during his unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968. His son has released only his 2010 tax return and an estimate for 2011, years when he was preparing for his own presidential bid or already running.

Reid doubled down on the claim late Thursday, firing back at Romney in a written statement.

"People who make as much money as Mitt Romney have many tricks at their disposal to avoid paying taxes," Reid said in a written statement. “When it comes to answering the legitimate questions the American people have about whether he avoided paying his fair share in taxes or why he opened a Swiss bank account, Romney has shut up. But as a presidential candidate, it’s his obligation to put up, and release several years’ worth of tax returns just like nominees of both parties have done for decades.

“It’s clear Romney is hiding something, and the American people deserve to know what it is."

Reid's comments come in the middle of a scathing critique of the former Massachusetts governor's tax plan. The Tax Policy Center, which Romney has called "an objective third party" in the past, noted that his proposal would give benefits to high-income earners while giving a tax increase to middle-class Americans. Romney's camp has disputed that analysis.

Read more: Romney to Reid: 'Put up or shut up' on source of 'untrue' tax claims | Fox News


This is Reids statement that Romney is speaking about

Reid: 'Extremely credible source' said Romney didn't pay taxes for decade



By MANU RAJU |
8/2/12 8:48 PM EDT

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is refusing to let go of his allegation that Mitt Romney paid no taxes for 10 years, despite repeated denials by the GOP nominee.

In a statement Thursday night responding to criticism, Reid said he was told by an "extremely credible source" Romney didn't pay taxes for a decade, and that the nominee is "hiding something" by refusing to release more tax returns.

Here's Reid's full statement:

"There is a controversy because the Republican presidential nominee, Governor Mitt Romney, refuses to release his tax returns. As I said before, I was told by an extremely credible source that Romney has not paid taxes for ten years. People who make as much money as Mitt Romney have many tricks at their disposal to avoid paying taxes. We already know that Romney has exploited many of these loopholes, stashing his money in secret, overseas accounts in places like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.

“Last weekend, Governor Romney promised that he would check his tax returns and let the American people know whether he ever paid a rate lower than 13.9 percent. One day later, his campaign raced to say he had no intention of putting out any further information.

“When it comes to answering the legitimate questions the American people have about whether he avoided paying his fair share in taxes or why he opened a Swiss bank account, Romney has shut up. But as a presidential candidate, it’s his obligation to put up, and release several years’ worth of tax returns just like nominees of both parties have done for decades.

“It’s clear Romney is hiding something, and the American people deserve to know what it is. Whatever Romney’s hiding probably speaks volumes about how he would approach issues that directly impact middle-class families, like tax reform and the economy. When you are running for president, you should be an open book.

“I understand Romney is concerned that many people, Democrats and Republicans, have been calling on him to release his tax returns. He has so far refused. There is only one thing he can do to clear this up, and that’s release his tax returns.”

Reid: 'Extremely credible source' said Romney didn't pay taxes for decade - POLITICO.com

The Dems want his tax returns pretty bad and I suspect they are only looking for more class warfare material for the Democratic slander machine.

I hope that Romney sues old Harry back to Nevada.

Why hasn't Harry called for Obama to release his records? oops.

'Make the S.O.B. Deny It'
By John Aloysius Farrell
August 2, 2012 | 1:15 p.m.

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The late gonzo journalist, Hunter S. Thompson, added to American political lore when making a point about unscrupulous politicians in his campaign chronicle, Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail, '72.

As a young man running for office in Texas, Thompson wrote, Lyndon Johnson needed to slow down a foe's momentum. And so LBJ ordered an aide to spread the rumor that their opponent was "enjoying carnal knowledge of his own barnyard sows."

The aide blanched, and objected. No one would believe a claim like that!

"I know," Johnson was said to have replied, "but let's make the sonofabitch deny it."

It was, said Thompson, "one of the oldest and most effective tricks in the business. Every hack in the business has used it in time of trouble."

Now Harry Reid has joined the list. The Senate Majority Leader continues to allege - in remarks today on the Senate floor - that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney paid no income taxes for a span of 10 years.

Reid says he was given this information by a former investor in Romney's firm, Bain Capital. But the senator admitted to the Huffington Post that he doesn't know if the information is true, and he won't release the name of his source.

If the story isn't true, asks Reid, then why won't Romney make his tax returns public?

"Let him prove he has paid taxes, because he hasn't," Reid said in the Senate today. "The word's out that he hasn't paid taxes for ten years."

As political skullduggery goes, Reid's trick doesn't meet the standard set by President Obama's foes, who have resolutely promoted the myth that the president is an African-born Muslim who should be impeached for violating the Constitution. On the other hand, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has never repeated that calumny on the floor of the Senate.

Romney campaign adviser Eric Fehrnstrom told Fox News that Reid's reckless accusation evoked the tactics of former Sen. Joseph "Tail Gunner Joe" McCarthy Jr.

"I'm telling you, speaking on behalf of the governor, that these charges are untrue, they are baseless and there is nothing to back them up," said Fehrnstrom.

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart found his own barnyard metaphor to describe Reid's claim.

"Should Mitt Romney release his tax returns? Of course," Stewart lectured Reid. "But him not doing the right things doesn't give you license to do the wrong thing....You're the Senate Majority Leader!"

It was, said Stewart, a "bull**** shot."


'Make the S.O.B. Deny It' - 2012 Decoded

Jon Stewart: You, Harry Reid, Are Really, Really Terrible

August 3, 2012
Jon Stewart: You, Harry Reid, Are Really, Really Terrible - Independent Journal Review

Trump Offers Up Trade For Obama’s Sealed Records
Filed under 2012 Election, News, Politics {315 Comments}


Donald Trump is calling on Obama to release his sealed records in exchange for Gov. Mitt Romney’s tax returns, declaring it would be “a wonderful trade.”

“I’ve said it a lot, that if Obama opened up his records, maybe Mitt should give his returns,” Trump told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” “That would be a great trade. I guarantee it would be a really wonderful trade.”

Trump offered a list of sealed documents he believes Obama should present for the deal.

“I’d like to see his college records,” he said. “I’d like to see his college applications. I’d like to see something about his past, which many people know nothing about. I’d like to see his passport records, which are sealed.



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Trump renews push to unseal Obama records


Trump Offers Up Trade For Obama’s Sealed Records*|*Front Porch Politics