Former President Bill Clinton appeared on NBC’s “Today” show, and acknowledged how “perplexed” he is that Mitt Romney has only disclosed his tax returns for one year. “That struck me as a little odd,” Clinton said.
What’s especially interesting now, however, is that Republicans don’t even agree amongst themselves on this issue. Virginia Gov. Bob “Ultrasound” McDonnell (R), for example, insisted this morning that Romney has already “released everything he needs to and more.” Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said largely the same thing a few days ago — asked when Romney might release the documents, Chaffetz argued, “I think he has released them.”
Other Republicans, meanwhile, see this differently. Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, and Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) have all encouraged Romney to release more returns, as his father did, and some conservatives in the media have joined the chorus.
As for why Romney refuses to release the materials — remember, he turned over 23 years’ worth of returns to the McCain campaign, so the documents shouldn’t be hard to find — we can only speculate, but theories abound. There has been no official explanation from the candidate or his campaign team.
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