DNC Calls on McCain Campaign to Release Cindy McCain's Tax Returns
On the Today Show this morning, Cindy McCain defended the McCain campaign's decision to withhold her tax returns, saying they would never make her tax returns public--not even if she becomes First Lady. [See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXDV2kZX_MU] Despite the accountability Americans expect from their elected officials and McCain's own calls for openness and transparency in government, John McCain has only released two years of his tax returns. No nominee from either party since Ronald Reagan in 1980 has disclosed that little information.
By failing to release Cindy McCain's returns, the McCain campaign is raising serious concerns about his own credibility, about how McCain's position as a U.S. Senator may have benefited John and Cindy McCain's business ventures, and about how McCain's political career has benefited from her personal wealth. Just last week, the New York Times revealed that McCain helped save his floundering campaign by paying a discounted rate for the use of her company's corporate jet. McCain's lack of transparency and accountability stands in stark contrast to the Republican National Committee's call for Teresa Heinz Kerry to release her tax returns in 2004. At the time, the RNC Chair said, "Americans value disclosure and transparency in campaigns." [New York Times, 4/27/08]
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement:
"What is John McCain trying to hide? Throughout this campaign, he has acted like his own calls for openness and accountability apply to everyone but himself. Now he thinks he can bring that same double standard to the White House. Whether he is skirting the FEC, withholding his tax returns, or stocking his campaign with the same Washington lobbyists he attacks on the campaign trail, John McCain is showing that he doesn't respect the voters enough to be honest with them. John McCain may not like it, but the American people have a right to know about the well documented links between his political career and the McCains' business ventures. John McCain's refusal to meet the standard of every other candidate seeking the office is one more reason he's the wrong choice for America's future."
John McCain Wants It Both Ways
MCCAIN CLAIMS HIS FINANCES ARE "SEPARATE" FROM HIS WIFE'S FINANCES...
Campaign Will "Never" Release Cindy McCain's Tax Returns, Not Even If He's Elected.
"CINDY MCCAIN: You know, my husband and I have been married for 28 years and we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years. This is a privacy issue. My husband is the candidate.
QUESTION: You'll never release, you're saying?
CINDY MCCAIN: No
QUESTION: Never?
CINDY MCCAIN: No. No.
QUESTION: Even if you're first lady?
CINDY MCCAIN: No.
QUESTION: Because that is, even though not an elected position, you would be in a very public role.
CINDY MCCAIN: I'm not the candidate." [NBC's The Today Show, 5/8/08: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXDV2kZX_MU]
McCain Campaign Says that John and Cindy McCain Keep Their Personal Finances "Separate." On April 18, 2008, the McCain campaign released the senator's 2006 and 207 tax returns, but refused to release Cindy McCain's returns. According to a press release issued by the campaign, "Senator and Mrs. McCain have kept their personal finances separate throughout their 27-year marriage." The release added, "in the interest of protecting the privacy of her children, Mrs. McCain will not be releasing her personal tax returns." [McCain press release, 4/18/08]
...BUT MCCAIN HAS USED HIS WIFE'S FORTUNE TO START, AND CONTINUE, HIS POLITICAL CAREER.
Associated Press: The McCains Marriage has "Mixed Business and Politics from the Beginning." "The McCains' marriage has mixed business and politics from the beginning, according to an expansive review by The Associated Press of thousands of pages of campaign, personal finance, real estate and property records nationwide. The paperwork chronicles the McCains' ascent from Arizona newlyweds to political power couple on the national stage. As heiress to her father's stake in Hensley & Co. of Phoenix, Cindy McCain is an executive whose worth may exceed $100 million. Her beer earnings have afforded the GOP presidential nominee a wealthy lifestyle with a private jet and vacation homes at his disposal, and her connections helped him launch his political career -- even if the millions remain in her name alone. Yet the arm's-length distance between McCain and his wife's assets also has helped shield him from conflict-of-interest problems." [Associated Press, 4/3/08]
The Phoenix New Times: It's "Doubtful" That McCain Would Be a Presidential Contender If It Wasn't For His Wife's Family Fortune. "Would United States Senator John McCain be a presidential contender if it weren't for his marriage to Cindy Hensley McCain, heiress to the Hensley liquor fortune? It's doubtful. The senator's wife and -- more important -- his father-in-law, James Willis Hensley, are very wealthy people. Like his father and grandfather before him, McCain was a career Navy officer. His earning power and his inheritance were modest. At its peak, his pay as a captain was about $45,000. But he retired from the military in 1980, divorced his first wife, wed Arizona native Cindy Lou Hensley and moved here to plunge into the world of politics. His first job in Arizona was as a public affairs agent for Hensley & Company, one of the nation's largest beer distributors. He was paid $50,000 in 1982 to travel the state, touting the company's wares. But he was promoting himself as much as he was Budweiser beer. A better job description might have been "candidate."" [Phoenix New Times (Arizona), 2/17/00]
New York Times: McCain's Wife's Fortune Allowed Him to Lend $167,000 to His First Campaign for Congress. "Records show that he outspent his opponents in part through access to his wife's family wealth. He received $11,000 in contributions from Mr. Hensley and company employees. More significantly, though he had little money of his own because he had been a career naval officer, his wife's fortune allowed him to lend $167,000 to the campaign, which was permissible under campaign laws then. Additional money was raised by another powerful Phoenix businessman who served as a big benefactor, Charles H. Keating Jr., the corrupt savings and loan operator whose ties to Mr. McCain continue to haunt the senator." [The New York Times, 2/21/00]
Republicans and Joint Filers:
RNC Demands Disclosure
In 2004, Kerry Campaign Releases Spouse Returns: The only apparent example of a presidential candidate who files taxes separately then their spouse in recent history appears to be John Kerry, with Teresa Heinz Kerry filing separate returns then her husband. We presume that Cindy McCain and John McCain file separate returns, although since they have never disclosed their filings publicly, it is impossible to say for sure. In 2004, the Kerry campaign released her 1040 form when it was filed, having provided summary figures earlier in the year. [Boston Globe, 5/12/04; 10/16/04]
2004: Head Of RNC Demanded Disclosure Of Spouse's Returns: During the 2004 campaign, then-Republican National Committee chair Ed Gillespie called on the Kerry campaign to release Teresa Heinz Kerry's tax returns, saying "Throughout history, presidential candidates have disclosed income tax information prior to Election Day. We believe Americans value disclosure and transparency in campaigns." Earlier in the year, an RNC spokesperson said "We're waiting to see what they do," and "It's a question of saying one thing and doing another." [RNC Release 10/14/04 via US Newswire; The State (Columbia, SC), 5/17/04]
REALITY: Her Fortune And His Political Success Intertwined. According to the Associated Press "The McCains' marriage has mixed business and politics from the beginning, according to an expansive review by The Associated Press of thousands of pages of campaign, personal finance, real estate and property records nationwide. The paperwork chronicles the McCains' ascent from Arizona newlyweds to political power couple on the national stage. As heiress to her father's stake in Hensley & Co. of Phoenix, Cindy McCain is an executive whose worth may exceed $100 million. Her beer earnings have afforded the GOP presidential nominee a wealthy lifestyle with a private jet and vacation homes at his disposal, and her connections helped him launch his political career -- even if the millions remain in her name alone. Yet the arm's-length distance between McCain and his wife's assets also has helped shield him from conflict-of-interest problems." [Associated Press, 4/3/08]
The History: Decades Of Significant Disclosure
Since at least 1976, all presidential candidates have released years of returns. In recent memory, every general election candidate already had a tradition of releases returns and/or released at least five years of records, often many more. Reagan's 1980 disclosure of a single year is the most minimal disclosure on the record. As the New York Times wrote in 2004 "Almost every president and nominee for president and vice president since Richard M. Nixon in 1973 have released their tax returns." [New York Times, 4/25/04]
2004: Kerry & Bush: Decades Of Records
Kerry: Kerry continued his two decade history of releasing his returns annually. [Boston Herald, 1/19/08]
Bush: Bush's returns were already public from annual releases from White House, and years before his election were on the record from previous campaigns and disclosures. [http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/PresidentialTaxReturns]
2000: Gore & Bush
Gore: Gore's returns for many years were already public, pursuant to White House tradition. [New York Times, 10/25/00]
Bush: As president, the White House annually released his returns. As governor of Texas, he had also annually released federal returns and released his 1999 filing in October of 2000. [http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/PresidentialTaxReturns; Austin American-Statesman, 10/11/97; New York Times, 4/18/00 10/25/00]
1996: Clinton & Dole
Clinton: As president, Clinton annually released his returns and materials back to 1978 were on the public record from prior releases. [Tax History Project (http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/PresidentialTaxReturns); Knight Ridder, 3/18/08; Associated Press, 3/6/08, 3/26/94]
Dole: Then-Senator and presidential candidate Bob Dole released 30 years of filings in January of 1996 (back to 1966) and then released his newest filing in April of 1996. [Associated Press, 1/25/96, 4/16/96]
1992: Clinton & Bush
Clinton: Released filings back to 1980 [New York Times, 3/27/92]
Bush: As president and vice president, Bush had annually released his tax returns going back into the 1980s. [Washington Times, 4/4/92; http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/PresidentialTaxReturns]
1988: Dukakis & Bush
Dukakis: He released his 1987 return in early May, adding to his earlier release of the previous five years. [New York Times, 11/14/87; Associated Press, 5/5/88]
Bush: As vice president, Bush had annually released his tax returns back to 1980. [Washington Times, 4/4/92]
1984: Mondale & Reagan
Mondale: Had 12 years total on the public record. In 1984 he released the prior three years, covering the period since he left the VP's office. This added to the annual releases while he was Vice President and the five years he released as the running mate in 1976. [UPI, 4/17/84; Associated Press, 5/31/79; New York Times, 8/25/84]
Reagan: As president, he had released his taxes annually, building on his 1980 election year disclosures. [Washington Post, 9/27/94]
1980: Carter And Reagan
Carter: As a candidate in 1976, he released copies of six years of returns, and then annually provided releases while in office, for a total of ten years by the 1980 election. [New York Times, 9/29/76; http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/PresidentialTaxReturns]
Reagan: As a candidate in 1980, he released his 1979 return. [New York Times, 8/2/80]
1976: Carter And Ford
Carter: As a candidate in 1976, he released copies of six years of returns. [New York Times, 9/29/76]
Ford: Released at least summaries for prior ten years. [New York Times, 9/29/76]
