(Sacramento, CA) – Late yesterday, Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) introduced House Resolution 13, a measure backed by a bi-cameral group of legislators, that urges President Trump to release his tax returns to the public.
“Standing with my brothers and sisters in protest of the Muslim Ban over the weekend, it became crystal clear to me that this man’s abnormal behavior has very real and personal ramifications for families. The first 10 days of Trump running our country have shown him to be terrifying, at worst; ignorant and egomaniacal at best,” said Assemblymember Santiago. “I believe it is now more imperative than ever, that the American people understand the President’s conflicts of interest and to whom and what countries he is beholden – especially given that he has access to our nuclear codes.”
While Presidential candidates are not required by law to release their returns, every president since 1976 has done so. These documents help people understand whether the President may be facing ethical or monetary dilemmas when making important decisions pertaining to industry, trade, and business.
After 18 months of campaigning and telling the American public that he would release his tax returns upon conclusion of an audit being conducted by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, President Trump changed his tune after less than one day in office. Just last week, his spokesperson said he was no longer planning to offer up the documents because “people don’t care.”
“We will never know if the president actually puts America first until he discloses his tax returns,” said Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco). “The publication of this information, just as every president has done for decades, is required to hold this president accountable to basic ethics laws to prevent conflicts of interest. There are no excuses or ‘alternative facts’ to be debated. It’s time for the president to put up or shut up about where his loyalties lie.”
Assemblymembers Santiago and Ting are partnering with Senators Mike McGuire and Scott Wiener on this transparency effort, which dovetails with their Senate Bill 149, which will require presidential candidates to make five years of their tax returns public, starting with the next presidential election in California.
“We're grateful to stand with Assemblymember Santiago in calling on our President to release his tax returns," Senator Mike McGuire (D-Santa Rosa) said. "President Trump says the American people don’t care if he releases his tax returns, but we all know that he's dead wrong. That’s why Senator Weiner and I have joined with Assemblymember Santiago to advance this resolution and to work to pass SB 149 which would mandate future presidential candidates to turn over their tax returns prior to Election Day. California didn’t pick this fight, but we will respond to this unprecedented action and secrecy and ensure voters have the information they need to make the most important choice they have – voting for President.”
“I’m proud to join Assemblymember Santiago in his efforts to demand financial disclosure from Donald Trump,” said Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). “We put forward SB149 because the people of the United States deserve a president that supports basic transparency and accountability standards, not a president motivated by financial gain. If Donald Trump cared about earning the trust of the people, he would have released his tax returns before the election, as presidential candidates have been doing for decades. But he didn’t, and so we must act. I’m happy to partner with Assemblymember Santiago and Senator Mike McGuire to demand more accountability from our current and future presidents.”
The denial of the importance to release his tax returns is even more troubling in light of the President’s recent Executive Order on Immigration which bans immigrants and refugees from a select group of Middle Eastern countries while omitting others with direct ties to terrorism. Several journalists have speculated that the omitted countries are those containing interests beneficial to the Trump brand. The American public deserves to know if foreign policy is being made with the President’s own financial interests in mind.
As of this weekend, a White House petition for President Trump to release his tax returns has received hundreds of thousands of signatures – an item that should demand an official response from the White House. An ABC poll from earlier this year found that 74% of the public also wanted the President to release his tax returns.
“Mr. Trump is seated in the Oval Office now,” noted Assemblymember Santiago. “As such, he is responsible for our country and the American public first -- over and above the financial interests of his family or his business.”
Assemblymember Miguel Santiago is the Chair of the Assembly’s Communications and Conveyance Committee and a member of the California Latino Legislative Caucus. He represents the 53rd District composed of the cities of Los Angeles, Huntington Park, and Vernon.