The White House said Tuesday that President Donald Trump made more than $150 million in income in 2005 and paid $38 million in income taxes that year.
The acknowledgement came shortly before MSNBC host Rachel Maddow reported on two pages of Trump’s 2005 tax forms on her Tuesday night show.
The records were obtained by Pulitzer prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston, who said he received the documented unsolicited, in the mail.
The documents have become highly sought-after because Trump refused to release his returns during the campaign, breaking a decades-long tradition. He claimed he was under audit by the Internal Revenue Service and said his attorneys had advised against it — though experts and IRS officials said such audits don’t bar taxpayers from releasing their returns.
When asked if that was an actual possibility, Cay Johnston said he “had to include that in the realm of possibilities.” He also said that the numbers on Trump’s returns seemed normal. However, he said “this describes the amount of income, but not the sources.”
“Why is it that Donald Trump is so insistent that we don’t see his tax returns?,” Cay Johnston asked.
When Maddow asked what people would have to see to get to the “meat” of the issues, Cay Johnston stressed the importance of getting “the sources of his income.”
“The story here is that this stuff is obtainable,” Maddow said.
“Do it in the opening, tell everyone what’s there, and release the information all the way back to the ‘70s,” Cay Johnston said of Trump releasing the rest of his tax information.
Hallie Jackson, NBC News’ White House correspondent, joined Maddow to speak about the White House’s response to the news. “I’m told by White House officials that no announcement has been made [to release Trump’s taxes].”
“I think it is reasonable to assume there is more out there,” Maddow said in closing.
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March 15, 9:30 a.m. ET: Updated with Trump tweet.
