Earlier this week, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow vowed to release Donald Trump's tax returns during her primetime broadcast. After Maddow's reveal ended up being two pages from a 2005 return, the reaction was split, with the president making sure to comment.
Trump on leakers
When Donald Trump first announced his plan to run for president, most people didn't think he had much of a chance at success.
As time went on, Trump's brash style and controversial rhetoric led him to an upset win the Republican primary, as the former host of "The Apprentice" outlasted 16 opponents on his way to the general election. The biggest surprise then came in the form of his win over heavy favorite Hillary Clinton, doing so by being the first major candidate for president not to release their taxes in 40 years. Speculation has only grown since the election over what Trump could be hiding in his financial history, with potential ties to Russia being at the top of the list. As seen on a March 18 segment on Fox News, Trump elaborated further on a portion of his taxes ending up Rachel Maddow's show.
The taxes obtained by Rachel Maddow came from author David Cay Johnston, who actually wrote a book about Donald Trump, and is currently working on a second. Johnston claims that Trump's 1040 form from 2005 ended up in his mailbox, while noting that he had no idea where it came from. Trump lashed out on Twitter the following morning, casting doubt over Johnston's answer. Speaking in greater detail on the issue, Trump told Fox News host Jesse Watters on Saturday night that whoever leaked the taxes were "bad people," and that a further investigation had not been ruled out.
"They are bad people. There is something wrong with them," Donald Trump said, while adding, "It's illegal to do what they did." After making sure to gloat about his tax returns, which showed he paid $38 million on $150 million income, Trump was asked if he would go after the leakers.
"I'm thinking about it," he said, adding, "We are looking at it."
Trump's take
"We have a certain establishment out there that's leaking,” Donald Trump went on to say. Not stopping there, the billionaire real estate mogul hit back at the leakers, accusing them of disrespecting the law. "They don’t respect the law and we have to change that," Trump said. As of press time, no new information has been released by the White House on whether or not they will investigate potential leakers in the future.