Dem tries to tie GOP on Iran to Trump’s taxes

A House Democrat questioned why Republicans were bringing up a bill requiring more transparency into Iranian leaders’ financial assets on Wednesday while largely staying quiet on whether Donald Trump should release his tax returns. 

During floor debate on the bill Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) suggested Republicans should demand more transparency from their party’s White House nominee like they are of the Iranian regime. Trump has cited an ongoing IRS audit as the reason for declining to release his returns, in a break from decades of precedent established by past presidential candidates.

“I gotta tell you, I’ve been doing this a long time and I think it’s safe to say that Donald Trump’s lack of transparency would make Richard Nixon blush,” said McGovern, who’s currently serving his tenth term in the House. 

{mosads}He called on Republicans to pressure their nominee to release his tax returns and pledge to end involvement with his namesake Trump Organization.

“So if you want to talk about transparency, and if you’re worried about conflicts of interest and corruption, you ought to demand that the nominee of your party come clean with the American people. You ought to demand that he release his tax returns. That he make it clear that he would end all of his business ties, if God forbid he would become president of the United States, which is something I hope never, ever — we ever get close to,” he said.

Republicans shot back that the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, hasn’t been forthcoming with documents like the transcripts of her paid speeches to Wall Street firms and details of any meetings with Clinton Foundation donors while she served as Secretary of State.

“I don’t think this is the right time to talk about the FBI investigation into Secretary Clinton. I don’t think this is the right time to talk about the pay-to-play investigation going on with the Clinton Foundation. I don’t think this is the right time to talk about all of her employees who have been questioned about her behavior and are pleading the Fifth one right after the other and refusing to answer those questions,” said Rep. Rob Woodall (R-Ga.).

“I don’t think this is the right place for that,” Woodall said as he tried to steer debate back toward the underlying bill requiring the Treasury Department to publicly list Iranian leaders’ known assets. “This is the right place to talk about something that brings us together, which is the defeat of a corrupt Iranian regime.”

House and Senate Democrats have been using legislative tools at their disposal to call on Trump to release his tax returns. Earlier Wednesday, Democrats used a hearing with IRS Commissioner John Koskinen – officially about the articles of impeachment leveled against him – to raise questions about Trump’s taxes.

Democrats in both chambers have also introduced legislation to call attention to Trump’s tax returns. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has a bill that would require all presidential nominees to release their tax returns, while Rep. Jared Huffman’s (D-Calif.) measure would force candidates to prove they’re under an IRS audit. 

Some Republicans have said that Trump should release his tax returns. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) noted last week that he released his returns while campaigning as the GOP’s 2012 vice presidential nominee.

“I released mine. I think he should release his. I’ll leave it to him when to do it,” Ryan said at a Capitol news conference.