Taxing questions for Clinton
TV debate between Clinton and Lazio, Sept. 13, 2000
I'm a little busy right now; I hardly have time to sleep. But I will certainly work toward releasing [my tax returns], and we will get that done and in the public domain."
--Hillary Clinton, MSNBC debate, Cleveland, Ohio, Feb. 26, 2008.
The Clinton camp has been trying to make hay on the income tax returns issue for weeks. During a campaign stop in Ithaca on July 7, the first lady said she found Lazio's failure to make public his returns "frankly disturbing."
--Associated Press report, Aug. 3, 2000.
During her 2000 New York Senate campaign, Hillary Clinton made a big issue out of her Republican opponent's failure to release his tax returns. Former congressman Rick Lazio eventually relented, but only after the Clinton campaign dispatched volunteers dressed as Uncle Sam to picket his public appearances. Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson showed up at a Lazio event in Harlem to "fan the flames," and repeatedly demanded, "Mr. Lazio, what are you trying to hide?"
Today, Clinton is facing similar accusations from her Democratic opponent. The Obama campaign released a March 5 "What does Clinton have to hide?" memo arguing that she is concealing pertinent information from the voters.
Just how good is the Clinton record on financial disclosure?
The Facts
During the 1992 campaign, Bill and Hillary Clinton released their tax returns going back to 1980. They refused to release the returns for previous years, including 1978 and 1979, when, it later turned out, Hillary made nearly $100,000 trading in cattle futures.
During their years in the White House, the Clintons followed tradition and released their tax returns on an annual basis. There were few surprises, although comedians had a field day with some over-generous charitable write-offs, including $2 pairs of underwear. When she ran for the New York Senate seat in 2000, Clinton had already disclosed her tax returns as first lady.
The Clintons stopped disclosing their tax returns after they left the White House in 2000, and their incomes began to soar, with book deals and lecture fees. Hillary did not release her returns during her Senate re-election campaign in 2006. Instead, she pointed to the annual financial disclosure forms that she files as a U.S. senator which are available here and here.
By contrast, Obama has released the form 1040 portion of his tax return (but not the entire return) since he first ran for the Senate from Illinois in 2004. Obama has released all his returns since 2004. Obama's Senate financial disclosure records are available here.
Critics, such as the Wall Street Journal editorial page, argue that disclosure of the tax returns could shed light on how Clinton was able to make a $5 million loan to her campaign last month. They also point out that Bill Clinton has refused to release a list of donors for the Clinton foundation, which funds his Presidential library and other charitable activities.
The Clinton campaign now says that the Clintons will release all her post-White House tax returns "on or around April 15," a week before the potentially crucial Pennsylvania primary.
