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Five Takeaways About Trump’s Taxes

Democrats in the U.S. Congress released six years’ worth of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns following a years-long legal fight in which Trump sought to keep the information private. The newly publicized records amount to nearly 6,000 pages, including the personal tax returns of Trump and his wife, Melania, from 2015 to 2020, as well as tax returns from Trump’s businesses.

Here are five key takeaways from the documents:

1. Trump’s personal income varied greatly year by year.

Of the six years covered by the documents from 2015 to 2020, Trump’s adjusted gross income ranged from a low of negative $32.4 million (in 2016) to a high of $24.4 million (in 2018).

1. Trump’s tax liability also greatly fluctuated.

Trump paid little to no taxes in three of the six years covered by the documents released: $0 taxes paid in 2020 and $750 in taxes paid in both 2016 and 2017. The former president paid larger sums in 2015 ($641,931), 2018 ($999,466) and 2019 ($133,445).

1. Trump claimed large deductions and losses.

While Trump’s gross income ran into the hundreds of millions of dollars, he also reported large losses and claimed various tax deductions, which reduced his adjusted gross income, along with the taxes he would have to pay on it.

1. Trump had bank accounts in several foreign countries.

In his tax filings, Trump said he had financial accounts in various foreign countries between 2015-2020, including China, Ireland, Great Britain and the Caribbean nation of St. Martin. By 2018, he had closed all his overseas accounts except for the one in Great Britain. The former president also reported earning money in foreign nations.

1. Trump’s charitable giving varied year by year.

Of the six years covered by the documents, Trump’s charitable giving ranged from a low of $0 in 2020 to a high of $1.8 million in 2017. Trump gave about half a million in each of 2018 and 2019, and $1.1 million in 2016.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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US Congressman-Elect Santos Investigated for Lying About His Past

U.S. Representative-elect George Santos of New York was under investigation by Long Island prosecutors on Wednesday after revelations surfaced that the now-embattled Republican lied about his heritage, education and professional pedigree as he campaigned for office.

Despite intensifying doubt about his fitness to hold federal office, Santos has shown no signs of stepping aside — even as he publicly admitted to a long list of lies.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly, a Republican, said the fabrications and inconsistencies were “nothing short of stunning.”

“The residents of Nassau County and other parts of the third district must have an honest and accountable representative in Congress,” she said. “If a crime was committed in this county, we will prosecute it.”

Santos’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

He is scheduled to be sworn in next Tuesday, when the U.S. House reconvenes. If he assumes office, he could face investigations by the House Committee on Ethics and the Justice Department.

The Republican has admitted to lying about having Jewish ancestry, a Wall Street pedigree and a college degree, but he has yet to address other lingering questions — including the source of what appears to be a quickly amassed fortune despite recent financial problems, including evictions and owing thousands in back rent.

Fellow Long Island Republican Representative-elect Nick Lalota said he was troubled by the revelations.

“I believe a full investigation by the House Ethics Committee and, if necessary, law enforcement, is required,” Lalota said Tuesday.

The New York attorney general’s office has already said it’s looking into issues that have come to light.

Brendan Brosh, a spokesperson for the Nassau County DA’s office, said Wednesday, “We are looking into the matter.” The scope of the investigation was not immediately clear.

Other Republicans castigated Santos but stopped short of asking him to step aside.

“Congressman-elect George Santos has broken the public trust by making serious misstatements regarding his background, experience and education, among other issues,” said Joseph G. Cairo, chair of the Nassau County Republican Committee, which is within the 3rd Congressional District.

Questions intensified after The New York Times examined the narrative Santos, 34, presented to voters during his successful campaign for a congressional district that straddles the north shore suburbs of Long Island and a sliver of Queens.

The Times uncovered records in Brazil that show Santos was the subject of a criminal investigation there in 2008 over allegations that he used stolen checks to buy items at a clothing shop in the city of Niteroi. At the time, Santos would have been 19. The Times quoted local prosecutors as saying the case was dormant because Santos had never appeared in court.

Santos continued to deny he was being sought by authorities in South America.

Democrats pounced, calling Santos a serial fabulist and demanded he voluntarily not take office.

In an interview with the New York Post earlier this week, Santos apologized for his fabrications but downplayed them as “sins” over embellishing his resume, adding that “we do stupid things in life.”

He admitted to lying about working for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, as well as having earned a degree in finance and economics from Baruch College in New York.

Beyond his resume, Santos invented a life story that has also come under question, including claims that his grandparents “fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium and again fled persecution during World War II.”

During his campaign, he referred to himself as “a proud American Jew.”

He backtracked on that claim, saying he never intended to claim Jewish heritage, which would have likely raised his appeal among his district’s significant ranks of Jewish voters.

“I am Catholic,” he told the Post. “Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background, I said I was ‘Jew-ish.'”

In a statement Tuesday, the Republican Jewish Coalition repudiated Santos.

“He deceived us and misrepresented his heritage. In public comments and to us personally, he previously claimed to be Jewish,” the coalition said. “He will not be welcome at any future RJC event.”

On Fox News Tuesday night, Santos came under withering questioning by former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard, who was sitting in for Tucker Carlson.

“You don’t really seem to be taking this seriously,” she told him.

“You’ve apologized. You’ve said you’ve made mistakes. But you’ve outright lied. A lie is not an embellishment on a resume,” she said.

“Look, I agree with what you’re saying,” Santos replied. “We can debate my resume and how I worked with firms such as —”

“Is it debatable?” Gabbard interjected. “Or is it just false?”

“No, it’s not false at all,” he said. “It’s debatable.”

Santos lost his first race for Congress in 2020 but successfully ran again this year.

In its opposition research on Santos, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised several red flags about the Republican’s record — but also accepted some of his assertions, including his educational record, as fact. The 87-page dossier sought to tie him to the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and his support for baseless claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

The report also sought to depict him as a far-right candidate. But buried within its report, the DCCC had raised issues about his shaky financial standing and multiple evictions that left him thousands of dollars in debt.

Federal campaign records show that he loaned his campaign more than $700,000, but the source of that money has yet to be explained.

While his Democratic opponent, Robert Zimmerman, also tried to raise Santos’ misrepresentations during his losing campaign, it did not gain much traction.

Zimmerman has said that Santos is unfit for office and has called for him to step aside so a special election can be held.
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Biden Renomination Pursuit Could Be No Sure Thing

President Joe Biden, currently vacationing in the U.S. Virgin Islands, has said he would take time over the holidays to discuss with family members whether he should seek re-election in 2024.

White House and Democratic Party officials say it is almost certain Biden will run again. But will he secure his party’s nomination?

An ideal place to explore that question is Prince George’s County, Maryland, where Biden received 89% support — his highest percentage in the 2020 general election.

Only about one-fourth of the 400,000 eligible voters in Prince George’s County usually cast ballots in major elections. Regardless of the turnout, the outcome is predictable in general elections for countywide offices — Democrats are almost assured victory in the largest African American-majority county in the United States.

The county executive, the 11 members of the county council, the sheriff, the clerk of the court and the nearly two dozen lawmakers from the county holding office in the state general assembly are all Democrats.

“There is no Republican I can think of that actually is viable, that would be able to win within Prince George’s County,” county Democratic Central Committee chair Kent Roberson said.

The Republican Central Committee vice chair in Prince George’s County agrees.

“Not in my lifetime. I’m 70 years old right now. So, Maryland has become more Democrat-leaning — certainly the county has — over the years that I’ve been here,” Jim Wass told VOA.

That does not mean Republicans in the county should give up casting ballots in general elections, said Wass.

“One of these times, it’s going to matter.”

An issue of age

What matters for many voters of both parties is that Biden, already the oldest U.S. president, would be 86 years old if he were to finish a second term. But in this county where he topped the polls in 2016, would he be able to vanquish all primary election challengers in 2024?

“I don’t believe he has blind total support,” Roberson told VOA. “And one, if we look at the [low] approval ratings, I don’t think that’s just all Republicans who feel that way, but it is Democrats, as well. And regardless of how I feel about the president and how he is succeeding, I think that we’re also aware that individuals are concerned that he might not be the one to continue in office for another four years.”

Biden, according to Roberson, did his part by bringing the country “through a transition stage from President [Donald] Trump to where we are now.”

As in other heavily Democratic districts across the country, Prince George’s County Democrats are not monolithic. Democrats individually wear different labels: progressive, moderate, liberal or conservative. In 2016, they came together for Biden to deny Trump a second term.

“We all have been able to take all of our differences and work together. But you’ll also see where some of those individuals think that leadership is needed to move forward in a different candidate. And so, that also sways how individuals feel whether President Biden should continue in office or not,” Roberson said.

Many possible contenders

Incumbent presidents seeking a second term rarely face serious intraparty challenges, but Biden’s age could put precedent aside.

Asked to assess Democratic presidential hopefuls, Republican Wass said Gavin Newsom, the 55-year-old governor of California, perhaps could appeal to Prince George’s Democrats more than Biden.

“Somebody like Gavin Newsom might fit the mentality of Prince George’s Democrats,” he said.

As recently as November, Newsom has dismissed speculation he would challenge Biden.

“He not only beat Trump once, I think he can beat him again,” Newsom told Politico in an interview. “I hope he runs. I’ll enthusiastically support him.”

If Biden does not run for reelection or is forced out of contention by a health issue, Newsom is seen as a leading candidate, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, who is 58; Senator Bernie Sanders, 81; and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, a relatively youthful 40. All three were contenders in the 2020 Democratic primaries.

Wass recalls 1992 when an obscure governor from Arkansas named Bill Clinton decided to run for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, despite political pundits predicting New York Governor Mario Cuomo was the one to beat incumbent Republican George H.W. Bush. Cuomo’s campaign collapsed before it began, and Clinton defeated Bush in the general election.

“Gavin Newsom must run or he’s wasting that opportunity,” said Wass, adding that for the same reason, former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo should enter the Republican primary contests in 2024.

“Even with former President Trump appearing to lock up a lot of the money and attention right now, these guys must run,” Wass said.

Other possible primary challengers to Trump include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney (who was defeated for reelection this year and is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney). Also mentioned among moderate Republicans are New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.

The only elected president in American history to be denied his party’s nomination for a second term was Democrat Franklin Pierce in 1856. But the concern then was the president’s policies, not his age.

The hard-drinking Pierce favored enslavement as the country headed toward civil war over the issue. His party decided to instead nominate James Buchanan, a former secretary of state who had served as Pierce’s ambassador to the United Kingdom and thus had not been involved in the contentious slavery debate.

Buchanan, who was himself no friend to the abolitionists, bested two contenders in the general election from the Whig and Republican parties, despite not actively campaigning, capturing every slave state except Maryland.

Historians generally consider Pierce and Buchanan among America’s worst presidents.
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