Might it be possible that all of Donald Trump’s bragging about being “really rich” is just another of his lies? Could the Donald actually not be a billionaire and only be worth a measly few hundred million? That’s the contention of author Tim O’Brien.
O’Brien, who wrote the 2004 book TrumpNation: The Art of Being The Donald was a guest on CNN earlier this morning, and he said that when Trump sued him for writing the book, he and his attorneys were given unprecedented access to Trump’s financial records, including his tax returns:
“During the course of that litigation, my lawyers deposed him about his taxes and we got his tax returns. I think there’s very practical things in those documents that Trump doesn’t want to produce because they’re going to undermine a whole series of claims and remarks he’s made on the campaign trail over the last year.”
Trump has repeatedly refused to release his tax returns, claiming he cannot do so because he is being audited by the IRS. However, the IRS says a taxpayer under audit is not prohibited from releasing their tax returns, so chalk this up to yet another lie on Trump’s part.
Although O’Brien is not allowed to discuss specifics about Trump’s wealth under terms of the lawsuit settlement, he said that Trump was continually questioned about his net worth during two days of depositions, and it quickly became clear Trump could not be worth more than about $250 million:
“(The returns) will show his income, and income is one pillar of how much money someone’s actually making, obviously, and how robust their business is. I think he might have hesitations revealing that. He’s repeatedly on the campaign trail described himself as a generous philanthropist, as a very big backer of that, so there’s very little public information available that shows that he’s actually been a philanthropist. Certainly (in) New York, he’s not known as a major philanthropist.”
As if that’s not enough to thoroughly embarrass the Tiny Handed One, O’Brien also noted:
“I think, at the end of the day, what the really crucial thing is, he’s running for the highest office in the land, he’s running to be one of the most powerful people in the world, and the taxes would show what kind of financial issues and pressure would come to bear on him in the office. That’s the reason historically that presidents have revealed and released their taxes.”
This article was originally published by the same author at Liberal America.org