Ocasio-Cortez suggest Trump 'vulnerable to shady activity' due to alleged business losses decades ago
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said President Trump may be “vulnerable to shady activity” after a report claiming he lost billions of dollars from his businesses over three decades ago.
The New York Democrat offered up her two cents on Twitter concerning a New York Times report that alleged that Trump claimed to have lost $1.17 billion from his real estate businesses on his federal income tax returns for the decade between 1985 and 1994.
“Wouldn’t you think someone who personally lost over a BILLION dollars ('more than nearly any other taxpayer in America') be vulnerable to shady activity to get out of that hole?” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Tuesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“If they became the most powerful public servant in America, wouldn’t you want to see their taxes?” Ocasio-Cortez added, echoing the House Democrats’ rallying cry to reveal Trump’s tax returns, a demand Trump so far rejected.
NY TIMES REPORTS IT FOUND TRUMP TAX DOCUMENTS SHOWING NEARLY $1.2B IN LOSSES BETWEEN 1985 AND 1994
The report claimed that after comparing Trump’s financial information with other high-income earners, the president “appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer.” Due to the losses, Trump legally avoided paying income tax in at least eight of the ten years in question.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}House Democrats have long targeted Trump’s tax returns as he broke the tradition and declined to reveal them during the 2016 campaign. Presidential candidates, however, aren’t required by law to disclose their historic tax returns.
The House Ways and Means Committee has demanded the IRS to provide Trump's personal and business returns for 2013 through 2018.
MULVANEY VOWS DEMS WILL 'NEVER' SEE TRUMP'S TAX RETURNS, DESPITE RENEWED PUSH
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said last month that Democrats will “never” Trump’s tax returns.
“Oh no, never – nor should they," Mulvaney told “Fox News Sunday”. “That’s an issue that was already litigated during the election. Voters knew the president could have given his tax returns. They knew that he didn’t and they elected him anyway.”
On Monday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin formally refused to release Trump’s tax returns, saying the request “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.”
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Democrats are mulling their next move and are reportedly considering to subpoena the IRS for the returns or to file a lawsuit.
Fox News’ Samuel Chamberlain and the Associated Press contributed to this report.