In response to a petition posted to the White House website, President Trump’s close adviser Kellyanne Conway told George Stephanopoulos on “This Week” that he will not be releasing his tax returns because the issue has been litigated and, in her words, “people didn’t care.”
The Trump administration has issued a response to an online petition asking for the president to release his tax returns.
During an interview on ABC News’ “This Week,” Trump's adviser Kellyanne Conway told host George Stephanopoulos, “...he’s not going to release his tax returns.”
She added, in part, “We litigated this all through the election. People didn’t care. They voted for him...most Americans are...very focused on what their tax returns will look like while President Trump is in office, not what his look like…”
Trump has also echoed a similar thought, saying at a January press conference, “The only one that cares about my tax returns are the reporters.”
However, a pre-inauguration poll reportedly showed that about three out of four people surveyed in the U.S., including Republicans, want the documents released.
Trump had refused to do so during the campaign, citing an ongoing IRS audit.
The petition, which was posted to the White House website, is titled, “Immediately release Donald Trump's full tax returns, with all information needed to verify emoluments clause compliance.”
It goes on to state that, “The unprecedented economic conflicts of this administration need to be visible to the American people, including any pertinent documentation which can reveal the foreign influences and financial interests which may put Donald Trump in conflict with the emoluments clause of the Constitution.”
According to ABC News, “The emoluments clause seeks to prevent U.S. officials from profiting from foreign leaders.”
The petition was launched by a person with the initials A.D. who used a system the Obama administration implemented where if a given request receives 100,000 signatures within 30 days, the public will get “an official update from the White House within 60 days.”
In less than two days, the petition calling for the release of Trump’s tax returns has collected more than 200,000 signatures.
