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Trump's Tax Returns

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Other Politics
Posted on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 10:45:50 AM EST
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Robert Gibbs:

"Donald Trump said he’d release his tax returns as soon as the president released his birth certificate, so the ball is in his court now and I know everybody is anxious to see his tax returns over the last 10 years," Gibbs told POLITICO.

The Obama Team loves Trump being a leading GOP light, for good reason.

Speaking for me only

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    Trump's Tax Returns | 73 comments (73 topical)

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    Bah, let's get to the root of the matter. (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by observed on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 11:01:33 AM EST
    I want Trump to lift his rat's nest off  the top of his head so we can see what he's been hiding.
    He's the only person I ever wished (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 11:12:41 AM EST
    hair plugs on, and selfishly that was for me :)

    Parent
    You could never get plugs through that head (5.00 / 2) (#6)
    by Dadler on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 11:19:07 AM EST
    Nothing but rocks. He'd have to do Lee Press-On Hair.

    Parent
    Lordie (none / 0) (#23)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 12:42:57 PM EST
    Ya got me rolling.  The next time the girls get together to have martinis you must come along, you fit right in:)

    Parent
    Raised by a woman (5.00 / 1) (#51)
    by Dadler on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 03:30:36 PM EST
    I'm a total girl.  When I, um, want to be.

    Parent
    Is The Donald's hair too big to fail? (none / 0) (#11)
    by observed on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 11:46:01 AM EST


    Parent
    TARP, TALF... (5.00 / 2) (#18)
    by Dadler on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 12:18:06 PM EST
    ...is there a SCALP? (Sickening Combover As*hole Lending* Program.  *Lending is, of course, non-recourse, wink wink).  But seriously, would any of us be surprised if the Donald somehow did manage to get a "bailout" bundle somehow?

    Nope.

    Parent

    Judging (none / 0) (#59)
    by chrisvee on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 05:22:07 PM EST
    from photographic evidence, no.

    Parent
    What I want ... to know (5.00 / 2) (#17)
    by Nemi on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 12:10:13 PM EST
    is, how does he do it? The Hair? I mean, the "intricacies" of a comb over I get, but this, this back and forth - or forth and back as it were - where's the starting point? How does he make it stick? Does it stick even when it's windy? ...

    I'm sure ruffling his hair, however lovingly, is off limits, but I must force my thoughts not to wander into the "how does he look at bedtime?" - or worse "in the morning?" - territory.

    Parent

    It's a double combover. (none / 0) (#21)
    by observed on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 12:41:18 PM EST
    You can see the cross-hatching in a good photo.
    Underneath, the hair is combed across the bald spot; then the very long hair in the back is combed forward and put in place. Maybe there are some pins holding it down, besides the hairspray.


    Parent
    If he's not careful it could get out of hand (none / 0) (#24)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 12:44:27 PM EST
    and swirl into an orifice.

    Parent
    You made me curious (none / 0) (#25)
    by sj on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 12:45:41 PM EST
    So I went looking and found the "how-to".  Scroll down and it also shows what a windy day does to his... coiffure.

    Parent
    that's just scary. (5.00 / 1) (#31)
    by nycstray on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 01:09:14 PM EST


    Parent
    lol! Isn't it? (none / 0) (#33)
    by sj on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 01:34:54 PM EST


    Parent
    Thanks - just too funny. :D (none / 0) (#71)
    by Nemi on Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 05:43:20 AM EST
    And here I thought my question was a rhetorical one, lol.

    Parent
    The windy day Trump could star as (none / 0) (#73)
    by MO Blue on Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 08:59:50 AM EST
    one of the monsters in a horror movie. Wouldn't need much other than a change in costume.

    Scary.  

    Parent

    That's where the Wizard of Odd lives (none / 0) (#2)
    by Dadler on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 11:11:55 AM EST
    At the bald end of the yellow journalism road.  

    Parent
    I find it amazing that he has hid (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by observed on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 11:17:56 AM EST
    baldness rather successfully for 30 years this way.
    And the vanity of it!!

    Parent
    And talk about a stimulus program (none / 0) (#4)
    by Dadler on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 11:16:06 AM EST
    Donald's hair spray budget is a GDP all to itself.  And Gross it most definitely is.

    Parent
    He's hiding (none / 0) (#7)
    by Warren Terrer on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 11:21:24 AM EST
    Obama's REAL birth certificate, saving it for the right moment.

    Parent
    Yes, by all means, let's get (5.00 / 3) (#8)
    by Anne on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 11:29:30 AM EST
    waaaaay down in the mud and grovel in the deliciousness of tax returns and birth certificates and academic records, shall we?  I mean, soon we won't have the royal wedding festivities to cover 24/7, so it's good that we will have these truly meaningful things to occupy our minds.

    Because, really - how much fun is it to talk about the real problems we face?  Isn't everyone already sick to death of old people whining about Medicare and Social Security?  Haven't we exhausted whatever sympathy we ever had for those deadbeat borrowers trying to take advantage of the big banks who struggle so mightily to serve us?  War?  That's so, like, last decade, don't you think?

    I'm sorry, what did you ask?  Oh, that.  It looks ugly, but really, it's just a nasty knot on my forehead from this weird compulsion I've developed that causes me to bang my head on my desk - and for some weird reason, I seem to be doing it more and more...in fact, I'm feeling the urge right this very minute!

    Tax returns... (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by kdog on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 11:44:05 AM EST
    could be an educational moment though...for grifter wanna-bes, a road map to better griftin' with shady tax law assistance.  

    For non-grifters, a glimpse at how the other half pays taxes, via a shady loophole and deduction bonanza!

    So it need not all be a all for naught distraction from the hard problems we face.

    Parent

    Too bad we're not rich enough to (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by observed on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 11:45:34 AM EST
    make bank by going bankrupt.

    Parent
    Yeah... (none / 0) (#14)
    by kdog on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 12:00:33 PM EST
    but there is something to be said for pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, as opposed to welfare queening a la some people:)

    How we do is much easier on the conscience, if not the wallet...I'd feel like too much of a bastard to stiff people to the extent Donald Trump has, I don't care how profitable it is.

    Parent

    But Trump was born rich. (none / 0) (#78)
    by observed on Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 11:50:52 AM EST
    He is not a self-made man.

    Parent
    The numbers reflected on the (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by Anne on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 12:33:59 PM EST
    individual returns do not tell the whole story; at the level of a Donald Trump, they never do.  This is someone who undoubtedly has interests in numerous partnerships and LLC's, probably has offshore holdings, and those all issue tax information to partners as a result of preparation of the corporate returns - and we will never see those because Trump would have to get the permission of every other interest-holder to do so.  And that - in my opinion - is where the really interesting stuff is happening.

    Yes, it's always interesting to see what kinds of income someone reports or deductions he or she takes, but there isn't a whole lot to be learned from an entry that shows $50,000 in rental income from something like "Trump Holdings LLC," because you don't know how Trump Holdings got to that number.

    And, when all is said and done, it really comes down to tax laws that allow someone like Trump - or, as a better example, the McCourts - to seemingly rake in millions of dollars and then pay little to nothing in taxes, but you can't really blame people for taking advantage of the law.  There's a reason people like that have entire divisions of CPA's and attorneys on retainer, and that's to make sure that every legal advantage is taken.

    Those of us with income from wages have very little in the way of creative tax accounting available to reduce our tax bills - another reason why the rich just keep getting richer, and the rest of us will just be nose-to-grindstone until we drop.


    Parent

    Too true... (5.00 / 1) (#27)
    by kdog on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 12:47:17 PM EST
    the problem is tax law and our crooked game-able tax system.  But an individual or corporation need not bend over backwards to find every single loophole either.  I know there are deductions I could probably claim but don't...just because I hate spending any more time than the bare minimum filling out government forms...if I was paying somebody to do it for me, then I'd be tempted:)  

    And too true about his returns being only a miniscule part of the paper trail of shady in our LLC Incorporated World.

    Parent

    Does Trump pay little to nothing in taxes? (none / 0) (#28)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 12:54:02 PM EST


    Parent
    I don't know - do you? (5.00 / 1) (#29)
    by Anne on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 01:04:38 PM EST
    I was referring to tax laws that allow people "like" Trump to pay so little, not accusing or claiming that that actually applies to Trump himself.

    Parent
    Thanks, that clears it up. (none / 0) (#30)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 01:07:18 PM EST
    I have no idea what he pays in taxes, from what you wrote I thought you might...

    Parent
    Not the Years He filed Bancrupcy, which... (none / 0) (#45)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 02:50:38 PM EST
    .. off hand it is at least three.

    Sorry Anne, but I think American's have the right and should want to know how individuals run their own finances and the tax rates they ultimately pay.  It's important to me.

    A credit report is required for nearly all skilled jobs, put not the ones that require the skill of running the largest economy in world history.  I think that would be a mandatory release, I am especially interested to see who's on the supposed VIP list in which the credit bureaus dismiss bad debt for policy makers.

    It's not chicken S, like weddings and grades, which as much as Obama is screwing up, I doubt anyone questions the man's intelligence, he is a smart MFer.  Well except for the Trump, who didn't know Roe vs Wade was about privacy.  He is last man to start clamoring about grades IMO.

    The birth certificate is important, but in my mind, Obama's was released years ago, as was McCain's.  Finances on the other hand....

    I would love for the GOP, aka Tea Party, to clamor for fiances.  Sure it's my field, but in reality no one invests in a company w/o checking the financials, why not the people setting financial policy, are they capable of running one home's finances, if not, next.

    Who is whining about bankruptcy that has declared bankruptcy.  Who is whining about taxes and pays none.  Important stuff IMO.

    Parent

    I didn't say we don't have a right to (none / 0) (#48)
    by Anne on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 03:12:47 PM EST
    see the tax returns, just that what you see on a tax return isn't the whole story for someone like Trump - or anyone for that matter.  Yes, if he's going to claim some sort of talent for "running a business" that he thinks translates into running a country, he's going to have to explain how he managed to go bankrupt, but like I said in my comment, looking at Trump's returns in isolation isn't all that revealing.  Maybe he should be asked to provide the corporate returns for his business entities - that's where the real juicy stuff is.  Or the bankruptcy filings - which actually may be available, and if so, you know someone's hot on that trail.

    But, really, what will you learn about anyone from their tax returns?  How much income they reported, how charitable they are, the possible size of their mortgages, where they have brokerage accounts (or, in some cases, what stocks they own, since brokers report it all on a 1099, and most people don't usually break out the individual holdings), where they have interest-bearing accounts.  Would I know from looking at someone's tax returns that the charitable contributions were overstated?  Uh, no, I wouldn't.  Would I know that interest from this account or that account had been omitted?  Nope.

    So, I just don't find the tax returns to be all that interesting because they just doesn't, in isolation, tell anyone much of anything; I just don't think anyone's going to discover tax fraud from looking at someone's 1040.

    And "Wow, look how much money he made and how little tax he paid" is more a commentary on the quality of his financial and tax advisors, as well as the tax laws themselves, than it is on him - or anyone, for that matter.


    Parent

    Well Since I Am A Corporate Tax Stooge... (none / 0) (#57)
    by ScottW714 on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 05:13:27 PM EST
    ... I would say his returns would suffice.

    Although we don't file individual returns, our corporate return is 25 boxes, for our main company.  We use the boxes paper comes in, which is what 10x500 per box ?  That, until last year, was actually mailed, and since it's all last minute, overnighted to the IRS.  

    Even my return is about 20 pages, Donald's I am positive would be more in the area of weight, than pages when trying to figure out how much is filed.  You want to know what my place is worth, look at my property taxes, then use my interest to figure out how much of it is mortgaged.  Both can be found on my return, add in income and you could have a pretty good snapshot of where I sit.

    From there one would could trace all his corporate/partnership interests and virtually track everything he has ever had his hands on/in.  Including carryovers/depreciation from previous years.  At least publicly held portion, which I would assume is most of it because these clowns don't like using their own funds to finance their gambling.  This would include all foreign holdings because of the variances in account methods from country to country, that section would be very detailed.  Nuts and bolts detailed.

    Give me 5 years of returns and 6 months, and I could easily build a time table of his wealth for at least a decade and as many as two, depending on what he capitalizes/depreciates.

    For these and a million other reasons, if his return is released, it will mimic his birth certificate, a total joke, nothing of substance will be released.  Because first and foremost would be the realization that kazillionaire Donald the Trump pays a rate approaching zero, guaranteed he pays a lower rate than any of his employees.

    Parent

    But so what, Scott? So what if you (none / 0) (#61)
    by Anne on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 05:32:38 PM EST
    can do all that?  Where's it going to get us?

    Mostly, I think to what we already know: that the tax laws are heavily weighted in favor of those with wealth.

    Could we find that Donald Trump has milked his companies the way the McCourts milked the Dodgers?  I don't know.  Would that matter?  Yeah, I think it would - but the only way we're ever going to know that is if he makes public all the returns for the corporate entities he owns or has an ownership interest in - and I think there's about as much chance of that as a snowball not melting in hell.

    For me, it represents the same kind of distraction as the birth certificate nonsense - away from what's really important, and away from what people have - and have not - done about the issues that affect people like you and me.

    And by the way, if I want to know what your property is worth, I don't need your tax returns - just the likely public property tax records.  And Land Records would allow me to trace the chain of title and follow the inevitable corporate trail.  I can also track the financing records that way, so I can figure out how much you've borrowed against your properties.

    Our lives are more of an open book than we like to think about, sadly.

    I'd like to care about Donald Trump, but I don't; I think he's loving the attention, and the sooner people stop giving it to him, the sooner he'll go away, maybe to be a contestant on his own show, perhaps?

    Parent

    I See You Point... (none / 0) (#79)
    by ScottW714 on Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 04:18:39 PM EST
    ... which is excellent.

    I wrote this long explanation, but delete it because this IMO was far more persuasive:

    Maybe we just view the leadership differently because being a financial guy, this is really important stuff to me.  Had Bush revealed his financials, I can say with great confidence the 2000 election wouldn't have ended up at the SCOTUS.

    Rove didn't spent the energy he did hiding and spinning that information because no one cared.

    And low and behold, the guy who's personal financial adventures were a joke, ran the country into the ground in many ways, certainly financially.


    Parent

    How times change... (none / 0) (#49)
    by kdog on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 03:19:30 PM EST
    my moms taught me it was rude to ask somebody personal questions about their finances...such as how much they make or how much they owe.  The height of bad manners.  Now it is so commonplace, the shady and crooked as all hell credit reporting agencies already have way too much power to make or break people's lives.  Ask NYShooter, he'll tell ya.

    I can see your point about it being pertinent info to know about a presidential candidate, how they handle money, but an unintended consequence could be losing potential quality candidates because they had money problems in their past.

    We are already vetting candidates so much, disqualifying people out the box over the silliest of things.

    Parent

    This (none / 0) (#43)
    by lentinel on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 02:35:36 PM EST
    is what makes me angry about this stupid mess.

    Obama saying that he arranged for the release of this paper so that we wouldn't be diverted from really important issues.

    What a crock.

    Two years this dumb stuff has been festering.
    And the issues that have been important all that time - the wars, the disheveled health-insurance mess - the continuation of the most obnoxious of Bush's policies - unemployment - the lack of any clear presentation of our goals for Afghanistan, Iraq or Libya...
    All this while people are suffering. Losing their homes. Losing their ability to heat their homes in winter - dying in three wars...

    He released whatever it is that he released because of pressure from Trump. It has nothing to do with his desire to cut to the quick and eliminate distractions.

    He is one big distraction.

    Parent

    What an amusing election ... (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by Robot Porter on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 11:55:14 AM EST
    this is gonna be.  Everyone is a Republican.  From George W. Obama to George W. Trump.

    Shadow puppet theater to the max.

    Honey roasted ... (5.00 / 1) (#40)
    by Robot Porter on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 02:20:47 PM EST
    or plain?

    Parent
    And (5.00 / 1) (#41)
    by lentinel on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 02:23:53 PM EST
    the alternative to sitting in the bleachers is .... what exactly?

    Parent
    Chirping in (none / 0) (#53)
    by christinep on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 04:30:06 PM EST
    This one suspects that Porter & lentinel are having a hard time with Obama's finesse and takedown of the birthers and other liars. It does take awhile to learn to smile/put on a brave face when your opponent politically, the one-one-you-don't-like nails it.

    Parent
    I think that people are having trouble with (none / 0) (#74)
    by MO Blue on Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 09:09:37 AM EST
    the fact that Obama only uses his ability to finesse and take down conservative/Republicans liars when it comes to Obama's birth certificate instead of applying the so called ability to produce policies that will create good paying jobs, save homes, maintain domestic programs and provide for the well being of 98% of the population instead of the top 2%.

    Parent
    Yeah (none / 0) (#75)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 09:20:00 AM EST
    that's it in a nutshell. When it comes to him personally he will do something but when it actually comes to anything else he could care less.

    Parent
    I would be much more impressed with (none / 0) (#76)
    by Anne on Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 10:24:13 AM EST
    Obama's so-called finesse with respect to the birth certificate issue had he displayed it two years ago, instead of allowing the issue to become a veritable movement that has grown and festered to the point where it sucked all the oxygen out of a room that holds a lot of seriously important issues that deserve much more scrutiny than they are being given.

    Yes, I understand the concept of not dignifying the whole matter by giving it any attention at all, so why the about-face?  Because we have an election in 18 months.  So, this fine display of finesse will, I believe, provide a fleeting sense of one-upmanship that will soon vanish in a deluge of more issues like it.  Why?  Because the lesson that has been learned is not that one messes with the president at one's peril, but that, if you keep up the pressure long enough, the president will blink.

    Some of us already knew that about Obama, and it surprises me, with all your rational, emotionally bloodless political astuteness, that you don't see - or don't want to see - that this is no less a blink than what he has done on many other issues.


    Parent

    Ah yes...so much is in the eye of the beholder (none / 0) (#77)
    by christinep on Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 11:48:49 AM EST
    And, more precisely & in accord with political science studies (dating back to when even myself was in school), our attitudes about a political personage predispose our perceptual screen. Understandably.

    That this "one-upmanship" is but a small period in political time does not take away from the political reality that Obama demonstrated once again the importance of timing. As you note, too early has disadvantages, waiting too long has other disadvantages of allowing the story to seep into the body politic subconscious...and, biding one's time until you can accomplish several things (e.g., tie the Repubs publicly with the kind of conspiracy theories that make many people cringe & expose the Trump again as a political bloviator while enlarging his own popularity with the far RW, all the while driving the wedge into the Repubs.) I've never had that type of patience that can be so useful in politics; and, I admire the President's ability to accomplish what he wanted to accomplish when it was most helpful to do so.

    The BC issue--as the old/new charges show (see CBS' Bob Schieffer)--never was about substantive issues. As a vehicle to drive emotion (whether racist reactions, general xenophobia, whatever), the BC matter has been a power play...and, I believe, that Obama's deft handling of this RW strategy exposed what needed to be exposed. (Esp interesting in the coming weeks will be the sight of media reporters ridiculing variations of the claim.)

    Parent

    Bore or Gush (none / 0) (#55)
    by Socraticsilence on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 04:56:38 PM EST
    Its the same thing man!

    Parent
    Well (none / 0) (#58)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 05:15:48 PM EST
    Gore was partisan not post partisan or bi partisan so I don't think it's the same thing.

    Parent
    Really (none / 0) (#60)
    by Socraticsilence on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 05:30:30 PM EST
    remember were talking about pre-2001 Gore- a man who was the VP for the most corporate friendly Dem Administration in history, backed NAFTA, etc. - he wasn't the guy he is now he was like Obama and Clinton a moderate Democrat.

    Parent
    Gore was (none / 0) (#62)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 05:35:14 PM EST
    in the background pretty much from 92-00 and Obama is to the right of Clinton.

    Parent
    "I'm tired..... (5.00 / 1) (#22)
    by kdog on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 12:41:21 PM EST
    ...tired of playing zee game!"

    I hear ya Lilly Von Schtupp, I hear ya:)

    Interesting letter to the editor today in the NY Daily News, comparing birthers to those who demanded to see a black man's "freedom papers" way back in the day...people were often sold back into slavery for not having their freedom papers.

    The more things change, the more they stay same...this paper addiction has been a long-time affliction.

    yes (none / 0) (#32)
    by The Addams Family on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 01:34:43 PM EST
    comparing birthers to those who demanded to see a black man's "freedom papers" way back in the day

    this is exactly the point

    the real & verifiable & sickening history behind this birther bullsh!t* is what makes it racist

    & the point has never been whether or when President Obama would produce his "long form" birth certificate or any other form of his birth certificate, for political or any other reasons

    the point is that he should never have been asked to do so & it's a disgrace that this has been demanded in this way only of our first African American president

    the way the media have been "covering" this bullsh!t, you'd think it was Donald Trump & not Barack Obama who is the "media darling"

    *no offense to bulls intended

    Parent

    You know (none / 0) (#36)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 01:53:49 PM EST
    I thought about that. The fact that Hawaii isn't a "mainland" state and all but of course, that doesn't bid well for Alaska either :)

    Parent
    I have a family (none / 0) (#68)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 07:40:24 PM EST
    member who visit Hawaii for that same reason. I thought she was weird when saying that but maybe the feeling is more common than I thought.

    Parent
    Ah jeez, more people looking for reasons (none / 0) (#37)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 01:55:07 PM EST
    to take offence...

    Parent
    Why are you Californians so defensive? (none / 0) (#72)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 08:50:37 AM EST


    Parent
    i hope there will be (none / 0) (#38)
    by The Addams Family on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 01:55:41 PM EST
    sustained boycotting of all things Trump all over Hawaii

    Parent
    this one has been popping up (5.00 / 1) (#46)
    by CST on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 03:00:38 PM EST
    all over the place.  Thank goodness for the onion.

    "Trump Unable To Produce Certificate Proving He's Not A Festering Pile Of $hit"

    Colbert is hilarious. (none / 0) (#12)
    by Dr Molly on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 11:54:05 AM EST
    "Why won't Obama release his grade school report cards?"

    I haven't watched it yet (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 12:46:11 PM EST
    Can't wait now for spouse to come home!  Must jump the gun :)

    Parent
    I have a confession to make (5.00 / 1) (#35)
    by CST on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 01:46:44 PM EST
    I cheated on a second grade spanish test.

    There go my political ambissions...

    Parent

    rotfl (none / 0) (#19)
    by The Addams Family on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 12:21:48 PM EST


    Also released yesterday (none / 0) (#39)
    by jbindc on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 02:02:16 PM EST
    But not mentioned by Trump et al - handwritten files on how the senior BHO was perceived by the INS and Harvard University.

    A synopsis by writer Heather Smathers, who through a FOIA request, got the documents,  here.

    Some of the more juicy tidbits:

    A memo from Lyle H. Dahlim of the INS, written in April, 1961, says the agency "recommend(s) that Subject [BHO, Sr.] be closely questioned before another extension is granted - and denial be considered. If his USC (United States Citizen) wife tries to petition for him make sure an investigation is conducted as to the bona-fide of the marriage."

    AND

    The documents also show that the CIS investigated the elder Obama as a polygamist, having a wife in Kenya and a "wife and child in Honolulu." Dahlim's memo adds that "Polygamy is not an excludable or deportation charge as Subject is a non-immigrant."

    AND

    An INS investigator, M.F. McKeon, wrote "They (Harvard officials) weren't very impressed with him and asked us to hold up action on his application until they decided what action they could take in order to get rid of him. They were apparently having difficulty with his financial arrangements and couldn't seem to figure out how many wives he had."

    Documents show that Harvard officials considered Obama, Sr. to be a "slippery character," and conspired with the INS to have him deported.

    The actual documents are here.

    It sounds (none / 0) (#42)
    by Ga6thDem on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 02:31:45 PM EST
    like Obama's grandmother really wanted Obama's father out of the country from that file.

    Parent
    Wow thats important stuff (none / 0) (#44)
    by Socraticsilence on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 02:38:38 PM EST
    seeing as how Obama only met his father like twice and never after he reached adolescence. See, family links while always pernicious can at times be informative (if they're corroborated by other information sources)-- but only when the family member in question actually had any real contact with the person who they're being linked to.

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    The important and relevant parts (none / 0) (#52)
    by KeysDan on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 03:39:59 PM EST
    of these documents are the verification it provides as to where mother and father were at the time of Barack Obama, Jr.'s birth- in the USA. The rest of the documentation does not seem to reflect well on either the INS with its very personal inquiries pertaining to a non-imigrant, or Harvard, with its seeming misunderstandings of foreign students. Maybe some adjustment needs to be made for the time, but it is not unusual for foreign students to be aggressive --otherwise they would be unlikely to pursue or survive study  in this country.

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    My favorite comment on the Obama Sr. (5.00 / 1) (#56)
    by Socraticsilence on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 05:00:36 PM EST
    Thing was someone who pointed how obvious the racism is when you think about it-- pursuing multiple Women, means Obama pere should finish his thesis in Kenya so you have to wonder how many Kennedy's were asked to finish their own theses in Hyannisport?

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    Did anyone catch (none / 0) (#47)
    by Harry Saxon on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 03:03:34 PM EST
    Orly Taitz do an audition for the title role of the Madwoman of Chaillot last night?

    In what could only be described as a bizzarro victory lap, Birther Queen Orly Taitz (who gave this site the proud, somewhat bad*ss moniker "Insane Obama Thugs") spent her 14th minute on The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell. On the heels of President Obama's release of his long form birth certificate, Taitz had her work cut out for her if she wanted to sound more delusional than self-congratulatory lunatic Donald Trump.


    Link to Mediate.com

    Wait, wait, Harry (none / 0) (#54)
    by christinep on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 04:33:29 PM EST
    You do the Madwoman of Chaillot a disservice. The Madwoman was well-meaning, and trying to rid the world of the bigtime crooks & con-men:)

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    That's why I used the word audition. (none / 0) (#63)
    by Harry Saxon on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 06:53:00 PM EST
    She's playacting, and not very well, IMHO.

    :-)

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    Somehwere Paddy Chayevsky is laughing (none / 0) (#50)
    by Dadler on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 03:27:00 PM EST
    And enjoying the entire spectacle.  But I bet he gets nauseous soon.

    Like this? (none / 0) (#64)
    by Harry Saxon on Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 07:05:41 PM EST

    Trump also took exception to my assertions that it isn't clear that he's a conservative and that he once backed Barack Obama.

    In a 2009 television interview, Trump said Obama "has a chance to go down as a great president." Now, though, he writes that he "just voiced hope and support for a new president. Sadly, he has not worked out."

    Trump did support John McCain during the 2008 presidential campaign. But it's still not clear what kind of Republican he is. The Washington Post reported this week that a little more than half of Trump's $1.3 million in political contributions over the years went to Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).

    Trump explained his giving this way to Fox News: "Everyone's Democratic... so what am I going to do -- contribute to Republicans? One thing: I'm not stupid.

    LA Times Link

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    Just another Agnew (none / 0) (#80)
    by diogenes on Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 08:28:15 PM EST
    Trump will never be the nominee, but he can bring out negative mud and allow the eventual nominee to not have to.  He already has in effect reminded people that if the president were named Barry Orenstein and were from Long Island with his grades that he never would have made it into Columbia, probably not into Harvard Law, and certainly not to be law review editor at Harvard.

    "Reminded people"?!? (none / 0) (#81)
    by Yman on Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 09:16:58 PM EST
    Trump. like you. has absolutely no idea of whether Obama would have gotten into Columbia, Harvard Law, law Review, etc., because he, like you, has no idea of what Obama's grades were.  All Trump has are suspicions, and we've already seen how that worked out for him on the tin-foil hat/birther issue.

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    Trump's Tax Returns | 73 comments (73 topical)

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