That Sound You Year Is Donald Trump Screaming at the Mar-a-Lago Pool Boys Over the Release of His Tax Returns and Possible Prison Time
Vanity FairDec 20, 2022
The Facts
On Tuesday, the US House Ways and Means Committee voted 24-16 to release former Pres. Trump’s tax returns from 2015-2020 to the public.
Previously, Trump broke with presidential tradition and refused to voluntarily share his returns during his presidential campaigns. Democrats had sought access to Trump’s returns since 2019; in November, they obtained them through a Supreme Court ruling.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Things are going badly for Trump. The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riots recommended criminal charges against him, his family business was convicted of tax fraud, and now the public might learn more about his personal finances through these returns. This news could be a significant blow to Trump as he begins his 2024 run for president.
Pro-Trump narrative
It’s no one’s business what Trump pays in taxes or what income he reports, but the Democrats in the House shamefully won’t relent in their baseless attacks on the former president. They tried to disguise this sham as an investigation of the audit system, but it’s another way for them to punish their political opponents.
Nerd narrative
There's an 18% chance that Donald Trump will be jailed or incarcerated before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.