The entire internet seemed to stop in place for 19 minutes as MSNBC's Rachel Maddow unveiled the scoop that she had obtained two pages of Donald Trump's 2005 tax return, but the "mysterious" source of the leak is not much of a mystery, not even to former Trump booster Joe Scarborough.
The entire media world seemed to grind to a halt when Rachel Maddow teased that “We’ve got Trump tax returns,” and the suspense built further during the 19-minute tease at the start of her show. The story got a major boost from the Trump White House as well, which released a headline-grabbing statement effectively confirming the scoop in advance. By the time Maddow revealed the two pages of a 2005 tax return that were mysteriously mailed to investigative reporter and Trump bane David Cay Johnston, Johnston’s website was crashing from all the attention.
That two-page document (clearly stamped “Client Copy”) did very little to live up to the hype, instead showing that Trump paid 24% in taxes that year, far in excess of what has been suggested, and that he would have benefited greatly from a tax provision that he now supports. It was a publicity coup for Trump that he completed with a tweet:
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Does anybody really believe that a reporter,
who nobody ever heard of, "went to his mailbox"
and found my tax returns? @NBCNews FAKE NEWS!
5:55 AM - 15 Mar 2017
If the beneficiary of the leak was still a mystery to anyone, this tweet from Donald Trump, Jr. helped to clearify:
Donald Trump Jr.
@DonaldJTrumpJr
Thank you Rachel Maddow for proving to your #Trump
hating followers how successful @realDonaldTrump is &
that he paid $40mm in taxes! #Taxes
9:08 PM - 14 Mar 2017
To many, it was obvious that Trump was likely the source of this leak, coming as it did during the low point in his historically unpopular presidency, with much of the country in open revolt over the GOP plan to repeal Obamacare, and pressure mounting for an independent investigation of his Russia ties. It was so obvious that even David Cay Johnston broached the possibility, citing Trump’s documented history of media self-dealing.
The ruse was so transparent that even former Trump booster Joe Scarborough saw through it, and through its purpose:
Joe Scarborough
@JoeNBC
The Trump camp released one positive tax return to
distract from Russia hearings and the Trumpcare meltdown.
That's painfully obvious.
6:54 AM - 15 Mar 2017
Scarborough was not the only prominent figure to immediately smell a rat:
Charles M. Blow
@CharlesMBlow
Whoever has access to "client copy" of Trump's
2005 tax returns likely has access to others.
So why only leak that year's? I smell a rat…
9:19 PM - 14 Mar 2017
Dan Linden
@DanLinden
First question at White House briefing tomorrow:
Did President Trump leak his own tax return?
8:28 PM - 14 Mar 2017Andrea Chalupa
@AndreaChalupa
Conclusion: Our president is crazy enough to leak
on himself even if it's incriminating information.
#Maddow
Matthew Chapman @fawfulfan
One has to think that if this was a self-leak,
Trump must have picked one of his least incriminating tax years.
@AndreaChalupa @emmbee1002 4:54 AM - 15 Mar 2017
Josh Barro
@jbarro
Given the NOL, it also looks like what you'd end up with if
Trump said "leak my oldest tax return with a positive tax liability"
https://twitter.com/RichardRubinDC/status/841862092521115649 …
11:03 PM - 14 Mar 2017
TODAY@TODAYshow
WATCH: "It's not illegal to leak your own tax returns."
@AriMelber discusses Trump's tax return with @savannahguthrie & @MLauer
David Frum
@davidfrum
Almost as if somebody selected the single year and
the precise 2 pages that would do Trump least harm-
and found a way to release only those
As Maddow cannily detailed during that 19-minute tease, this cherry-picked leak should serve only to illustrate why all of Donald Trump’s tax returns should be released. Because this particular trick was executed so clumsily and obviously, it may just backfire far enough to bring more attention to the returns he continues to hide.
Poster Comment:
Trump exposes himself as a FRAUD.
#1: Gatlin To: Willie Green (#0)
Nah…that’s wrong.
The old 2005 2-page document was leaked so viewers could watch Rachel Maddow make a complete ass of herself….which she promptly did.
Viewers — including many celebrities — eagerly tuned in only to be aggravated by Maddow taking her time in revealing the contents of the tax return and learn that her findings weren’t as explosive as many were expecting it to be.
Gatlin posted on 2017-03-15 12:17:25 Reply Private Reply
#2: misterwhite To: Gatlin (#1)
Really? Painfully obvious? Then why did the lesbian report it? Nobody forced her to do that.
She could have said, "It's painfully obvious what Trump is trying to do with this tax return and I'm not going to play his game" and throw it in the trash.
Instead she hypes it, the White House scoops her, and she spends the first 23 minutes of her show tap dancing. Not only does she look like an idiot, she opens herself up to possible legal action.
misterwhite posted on 2017-03-15 12:33:13 Reply Private Reply
#3: misterwhite To: Willie Green (#0)
Turns out they only wanted to see if he pays any taxes and at what rate. That's it.
misterwhite posted on 2017-03-15 12:37:07 Reply Private Reply
#4: Vicomte13 To: Willie Green (#0)
Essentially, if the Left DEMANDS it, the Left should always be DENIED it.
Vicomte13 posted on 2017-03-15 12:53:54 Reply Private Reply
#5: Gatlin To: misterwhite (#2)
I saw that....
She got her “teats hung in the wringer.”
That is an old Southern proverb from the days before automatic washing machines.
It may have been a saying in other parts of the country also ..
Gatlin posted on 2017-03-15 15:24:02 Reply Private Reply
#6: Pinguinite To: Willie Green (#0)
I'm hard pressed to understand how this conclusion follows the revelation that he paid some $35 million in taxes in 2005. Maybe he did release his own returns. If so, then you got to credit the guy for a great PR move against his detractors. Key word: "if".
Trump is a smart guy, and the sooner his media detractors accept that as true, the sooner they'll stop looking stupid when dealing with him.
Pinguinite posted on 2017-03-15 15:42:13 Reply Private Reply
#7: Pinguinite To: Willie Green (#0)
I wonder why he used the adjective "painfully".
Pinguinite posted on 2017-03-15 15:43:51 Reply Private Reply
#8: Tooconservative To: Willie Green (#0)
John Barron is a fake spokesman and leaker. Who is actually Trump.
He has another alias too, something like John Morton as I recall.
Tooconservative posted on 2017-03-15 15:54:54 Reply Private Reply
#9: Fred Mertz To: Tooconservative (#8)
Phineas T. Tramp I think it is.
Fred Mertz posted on 2017-03-15 16:13:40 Reply Private Reply
#10: misterwhite To: Gatlin (#5)
I'm guessing I have bigger teats than her.
misterwhite posted on 2017-03-15 16:24:08 Reply Private Reply
#11: Hondo68 To: Tooconservative, President Barron Trump (#8)
John Barron = Trump's son Barron.
He's probably an idiot savant like Rainman.
Barron Trump knew the tax return was golden, so he leaked it.
Barron the libertarian homeschooler is the real President running the USA, and Donald is just a puppet.
President Barron Trump, and his clueless puppet Donald?
Hondo68 posted on 2017-03-15 16:41:14 Reply Private Reply
#12: Fred Mertz To: misterwhite (#10)
Let me guess, you weigh over 260 lbs.
Fred Mertz posted on 2017-03-15 16:42:00 Reply Private Reply
#13: redleghunter To: Willie Green (#0)
redleghunter posted on 2017-03-15 16:54:23 Reply Private Reply
#14: CZ82 To: All (#0)
I'm assuming everybody has heard of AMT? (Alternative Minimum Tax).
CZ82 posted on 2017-03-15 18:51:26 Reply Private Reply
#15: Tooconservative To: hondo68 (#11)
Obviously. So what's yer point? : )
Tooconservative posted on 2017-03-15 19:03:16 Reply Private Reply
#16: tpaine To: Fred Mertz, y'all (#12)
The saying has always been : ---
"She got her “teats caught in the wringer.”
Except in gatlins clown circle.
---And who says misterwhite is a man? S/he's always overdone the macho bit. -- It's very possible her teats hang to the waist.
tpaine posted on 2017-03-15 20:56:32 Reply Private Reply
#17: misterwhite To: Fred Mertz (#12)
Let me guess, you're ugly and stupid.
misterwhite posted on 2017-03-16 11:34:54 Reply Private Reply
#18: Fred Mertz To: misterwhite (#17)
Fred Mertz posted on 2017-03-16 14:01:48 Reply Private Reply
#19: Willie Green To: Gatlin (#5)
Willie Green posted on 2017-03-16 14:20:43 Reply Private Reply
#20: misterwhite To: Fred Mertz (#18)
And I competed against Schwarzenegger in 1974.
misterwhite posted on 2017-03-16 15:13:39 Reply Private Reply
#21: Gatlin To: Willie Green (#19)
Gatlin posted on 2017-03-16 15:56:05 Reply Private Reply