As Mitt Romney gets hammered for not releasing more of his tax returns, Romney’s wife Ann said they refuse to release more of his tax returns because…the release of the returns will result in Romney getting attacked.
That was the defense she gave in an interview with NBC’s Natalie Morales that took place in southern Wales during the Olympics but which aired last night on “30 Rock with Brian Williams.”
“Why not be transparent and release more than the 2010 and the estimates for 2011?” Morales asked her.
Romney’s response? “Have you seen how we’re attacked? Have you seen what’s happened?”
“Are you angry that it’s been in the press?” Morales asked. “I mean should you not be questioned about your finances?”
“We have been transparent to what’s legally required of us,” Romney said. “But the more we release, the more we get attacked, the more we get questions, the more we get pushed. We have done what’s legally required, and there’s going to be no more tax releases given. And there’s a reason for that. And that’s because of … what happens as soon as we release anything. Mitt’s financial disclosures when he was governor were huge.
“The other thing you have to understand is that Mitt is honest, his integrity is, is just golden. We pay our taxes …. Beyond paying our taxes, we also give 10% of our income to charity. So we have no issues that way, and the only reason we don’t disclose any more is, you know, we just become a bigger target.”
Morales: “So it’s because you will just continue to face more questions?”
“Well, it will just give them more ammunition,” Romney replied.
Morales: “To the American people though, when they hear about perhaps accounts with your name on it overseas, and tax shelters, they feel like you may be hiding something.”
“There’s nothing we’re hiding,” Romney said. “We’ve had a blind trust for, how many years? We don’t even know what’s in there. We’ve had a blind trust since before Mitt was governor, you know, 2002 forward. And so you know, I’ll be curious to see what’s in there, too.”
Candidate Romney said yesterday that when he looked back through the years he refuses to release, he paid a rate of at least 13 percent every year—a refutation of the claims by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he didn’t pay any taxes during those years.
