Romney: Harry Reid needs to 'put up or shut up' on my taxes

Romney: Harry Reid needs to 'put up or shut up' on my taxes
By Justin Sink and Emily Goodin- 08-02-12 07:19 PM ET

Mitt Romney on Thursday said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) needs to “put up or shut up” when it comes to charges the presumptive GOP nominee did not pay his taxes.

Romney also accused the White House of being behind the allegation.

“It’s time for Harry to put up or shut up,” Romney said on Sean Hannity’s radio show. “Harry’s going to have to describe who it is he spoke with because that’s totally and completely wrong. It’s untrue, dishonest and inaccurate. It’s wrong. So I’m looking forward to have Harry reveal his sources and we’ll probably find out it’s the White House.”

Reid, who has played an attack dog role for President Obama in the past, said earlier this week a Bain Capital investor called his office to tell him that Romney had avoided paying income taxes.

Reid said the investor told him: “Harry, he didn’t pay any taxes for 10 years,” according to the Huffington Post


He doubled down on his remarks on Thursday, taking to the Senate floor to repeat his allegations.

"So the word is out that [Romney] hasn't paid any taxes for 10 years. Let him prove that he has paid taxes, because he hasn't. We already know that from one partial tax return that he gave us, he has money hidden in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and a Swiss bank account," Reid said.

Romney has said explicitly that there was no year in which he paid nothing in federal taxes, and Reid has refused to identify the investor or offer any evidence to back up his allegations.


Hill.com

Mitt could easily prove Ried wrong by releasing his tax returns.....

Absolutely, he could shut everyone up...not just Reid. Whether or not Romneybot releases his returns, he'll have to deal with the fallout either way. I'm guessing his campaign made a strategical decision that the fallout from not releasing his returns is not as bad as it would be if he releases them.

Reid knows Mitt won't release them, so he can say whatever he wants without any substantiation. Pretty smart if you ask me. Keep Romney's lack of transparency in the news from now until November. He's obviously hiding SOMETHING. I wonder what it could be?

What's next, are they going to claim that Romney chopped up hitchhikers and put them in his freezer until he gives them access to his icebox?

If Romney won't release them, ask Reid, he has a source, what is Reid hiding?

All Obama Romney has to do is release his birth certificate tax returns to settle this whole mess.

Democrats aren't asking for much with this tax return issue. They would just like Romneybot to follow the precedent his father set of presidential candidates releasing many years of tax returns. His lack of transparency about his taxes is troubling. The issue could go away tomorrow if he were to just release some returns.

Initially, I was just getting a kick out of watching Romneybot squirm. Now it's pretty clear that there's troubling information that he doesn't want voters to know about.

Or the campaigns could focus on issues that actually effect American citizens.

Good luck with that. The campaigns will focus on what people want to hear, whether that be guns, abortion, same-sex marriage, the economy, foreign policy, etc.

Actually, they are. Asking anyone to provide more information than the law dictates is asking for much, but Democrats don't get that on any level. Asking businesses to make less money, asking business owners to do more paperwork, asking ordinary citizens to subordinate their freedom in favor of some ambiguous government goal is an enormous usurping of our rights.

Troubling to me is the simple fact that all too many are asking why he won't release his returns instead of defending his right not to do so.

Until people in this country demand better behavior out of their represented officials(a.k.a. until attack ads stop working so well) we will always have nasty attack politics. I'm not a huge fan but it's American as apple pie.

At least those issues effect people, unlike birth certificates or old tax returns.

George Romney must be a Democrat then.

It's not about 'following the law' at all. It's about being accountable and honest about your past. It's about showing the American people what you've been up to. Who are you? How did you make it to where you are today? Instead of standing up and being a man, Mitt is trying to bury his past and hide behind his wife.

Disgraceful.

The "Pieces of Flair" scene from Office Space would go good right here.

Being that major inconsistencies have been raised regarding Romney's time at Bain (his 2012 story vs. his 2002 under-oath story vs. Bain's SEC filings, etc.), a level of transparency equal to that of past candidates is only fair. He's not running for local fire commissioner, he's running for president...and voters deserve to have those questions cleared up.

The information therein could have major ramifications for a candidate. If Obama was found to not be a natural born citizen, what effect do you think that would have? If it was found that Romney was funneling money to terrorist organizations in the Middle East?

Extreme examples? Sure, but still.

And same-sex marriage only effects same-sex couples, not you, me, or anyone else that isn't part of a same-sex couple.

Love that you led off with a nonsequitar deflection.

Yes it is. You want more accountability as it's relevant to presidential candidates? Pass a law. Write your congressman. If enough of them agree, it will be law. Until that happens, it isn't a requirement nor is it relevant. Move the fuck on.

I agree that Romney has the option of showing this. But it is just that.

What is disgraceful is your judgement of his right to disclose or not. He has rights too.

No, there haven't been inconsistencies. His story is quite consistent. The contrivance that there is a story there is really the inconsistency. You've been reading too much huffpo. Take a break from it, it will rot your brain.

You are right that has no obligation to release his returns. However, the American public has a right to demand that he release them lest they cast their vote for the other guy. THAT is what it's all about.

Polls suggest that voters don't much give a shit about Romney's tenure at Bain or his tax returns - and the percentage that does care skews closely with Obama's base. Maybe that changes as we get closer to Nov. and more ppl start paying attention, but for now the independents and moderate swing voters who decide elections want to hear a plan to fix the economy.

If it's so important why is there no law in place? Where is our defense of individual freedom? This supercedes the importance of 8 years of tax returns that will expose what we already know:

Romney's income was taxed at cap gains rates, and there was a good bit of it. Besides that, we know where he worked, and where his income came from. /Story.

Generally, or traditionally, it hasn't been that important. Just like it was never important for a candidate to show there long-form birth certificate before Obama.

A candidate isn't legally forced to actively campaign, either (other than debates?), but that isn't going to win an election.

And, again, you are right. There is probably nothing of major import in Romney's past returns, other than a few mole hills, out of which people will try to build mountains. But perception is key. Everything contained therein may be perfectly legal, but ethical? Who knows? (not Reid)

There's been zero consistency. Here's the evolution of Romneybot's Bain story, as I remember it:

1. He left Bain in 1999.
2. It was found, according to SEC filings, that he was still CEO and sole shareholder until 2001. Romney says he had no involvement on Bain's dealings.
3. Romney's signature was found on numerous SEC documents dated between 1999-01.
4. Romney says he retired "retroactively".

This was all reported by numerous news outlets. Romneybot's claim about having zero involvement while still CEO at Bain is totally weak - he was in charge, he was responsible. Romney's attempt to pass the buck here is pretty cowardly.

You clearly don't give a shit what happened so there's really no point in rehashing.

I disagree. Since all of this Bain and tax return stuff has come to the forefront, Obama's lead in swing states has grown. This happens to coincide with Obama's campaign dumping money into negative ads in those states.