Who leaked Trump’s taxes?
The guessing game is on. Some believe it might be the celebrity real estate mogul turned presidential candidate’s second ex-wife.
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Journalists are now speculating that Maples may have been the source of the 1995 tax returns in the Times’ weekend bombshell of a report that Trump hasn’t paid taxes for the last 18 years.
Speculation over the identity of the leaker began almost as soon as the article came out this weekend. Maples, to whom Trump was married in 1995, filed jointly with her husband, which would give her access to the documents. Also, it would be perfectly legal for Maples to release her own returns, which would protect her from the legal action Trump’s lawyers promised against the paper. On Medium, writer Yashar Ali points to Maples’ signature on a New Jersey non-resident form, and the fact that Times reporters didn’t make clear whether they asked her for comment in the report.
Another theory, from the Daily Beast’s Olivia Nuzzi, involves quotes from her September profile of Maples, in which Maples says, “I have always been more liberal…and I believe in gay and lesbian rights and I believe everyone on this planet has a right to choice. So, I just don’t feel it’s productive for me to go judging another person’s choices.” And in 1999 article in the London Telegraph, Maples was quoted as saying, “If he is really serious about being president and runs in the general election next year, I will not be silent … I will feel it is my duty as an American citizen to tell the people what he is really like.” Maples told Nuzzi she didn’t recall making those comments to the Telegraph, but also said she was reluctant to directly criticize Donald Trump, fearing it would hurt Tiffany’s relationship with her father.
Others suspect it could be a member of Trump’s embattled campaign staff.
Longtime Trump ally Roger Stone went on the Boston Herald’s morning internet radio program on Tuesday and suggested that Trump campaign in-fighting might be even worse than we believed. In fact, he thinks a member of the Trump campaign may have been responsible for leaking the candidate’s tax returns to the New York Times.
“Any theory on who leaked these taxes to The New York Times?” asked co-host John Sapochetti.
“Somebody who worked at The Trump Organization, perhaps,” Stone replied. “Or perhaps a former employee. But I would just be speculating.”
Co-host Adriana Cohen pressed Stone to elaborate on whether the leak was really an inside job, which was when he started dishing dirt on the campaign itself.
“Well there’s a lot of fighting and I would say in-fighting and jockeying inside the current Trump campaign,” he explained. “It’s not nearly as smoothly operating as it was during the time that Paul Manafort, a true professional, was running things.”
What’s your guess? Let us know in comments. After all, it would be irresponsible NOT to speculate!
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