The Man Who Saw Donald Trump''s Tax Returns

Mitt Romney is showing no signs of backing down in attacking presumed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and has shifted his attack towards the ongoing issue of Trump's tax returns. The failed 2012 Republican candidate suggested in a Facebook post that Trump is hiding a "bombshell" by not releasing his most recent tax returns this is currently being audited. As tradition dictates, candidates vying for the top political office disclose their tax returns. However, Trump believes that he is not obligated to release his tax returns but nevertheless confirmed in a Tweet that he would indeed release his tax returns after the conclusion of the audit.

In interview I told @AP that my taxes are under routine audit and I would release my tax returns when audit is complete, not after election!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2016

In the meantime, Timothy O'Brien of Bloomberg is one of the few members of the public that has seen what a Trump tax return looks like - although it was a decade ago and he can't speak or write about the specifics due to a court order. O'Brien published a book about Trump in 2005 which was titled "TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald." The book contained interviews with Trump's friends, employees and business associates. Trump sued O'Brien claiming that the book libeled him because it expressed skepticism about his personal wealth. Trump alleged that O'Brien's "low-balling" his riches is damaging to his reputation. O'Brien's lawyers were then able to obtain Trump's tax, bank and property records. "As someone who saw Trump's federal tax returns about a decade ago as part of a legal action in which he sued me for libel (the suit was later dismissed), I think there probably are some things to be learned from them," O'Brien wrote in a Bloomberg article on Thursday. Specifically, O'Brien pointed out that Trump's most recent tax return would give a glimpse into his income, business activities, charitable giving, tax planning, and transparency and accountability. "For the last 40 years, presidential candidates have released their returns," O'Briend concluded. "Trump, of course, has portrayed himself as the un-candidate, the guy who bucks convention. But disclosing tax returns is a valuable political tradition that's well worth preserving.: