A top Senate Republican said Monday that Donald Trump should release his tax returns, despite the presumptive GOP presidential nominee’s resistance to do so while under audit.
John Barrasso of Wyoming, the Senate’s No. 4 Republican, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room” that it would be a “good idea” for Trump to do so, though he did not specifically call on Trump to release his returns.
“I think it would be a good idea, but he gets to decide that. I’d rather have them released,” Barrasso said. “I’m somebody’s who’s in favor of transparency and openness.”
Barrasso is among those Republicans who met privately with Trump when he came to Washington last Thursday to court party leaders and his comments serve as another reminder of the distance between Trump and at least some Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Trump is under pressure from both Hillary Clinton and some fellow Republicans to publicly release his returns. The Republican presumptive nominee has said he will not release them until he is cleared of routine audits from the Internal Revenue Service.
“This is an issue the media is interested in. It’s not an issue the rest of America is interested in, frankly,” Paul Manafort, a senior Trump aide, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” on Sunday.
