A leaked tax return for 2005 has revealed that US President Donald Trump paid 38 million dollars in tax on over 150 million dollars in income.
Two pages of the document were unveiled on the US network NBC - but the White House says the channel acted illegally, labelling it part of the 'dishonest media'.
Lorna Shaddick reports.
It sounds a bit shocking, certainly - but what Mr Johnston described is not a crime, and certainly not the big scoop that Twitter might have led us to believe in the run up to the show.
The White House got ahead of the story before the show even aired, issuing a blunt statement criticising the network for publishing the document, an act which it said was illegal.
"You know you are desperate for ratings," it said, "when you are willing to violate the law to push a story about two pages of tax returns from a decade ago".
Leaking federal tax returns is illegal, but MSNBC argues it's exercising its first amendment right to publish information in the public interest. And it's interesting that by releasing the statement, the administration effectively indicated that these documents were genuine.
The White House then went on to add that Mr. Trump, as a businessman, had a responsibility to pay no more tax than legally required - but did pay 38-million-dollars in taxes on more than 150-million in income.
That, perhaps, is the most interesting effect of this story- not the figures themselves, but the fact that it elicited the first voluntary, public release of tax information by Mr. Trump or his administration. Correspondents will be hoping this small peek into his finances might pressure the president to release more. SOC.
Two pages of the document were unveiled on the US network NBC - but the White House says the channel acted illegally, labelling it part of the 'dishonest media'.
Lorna Shaddick reports.
IN: UPSOT Rachel Maddow show
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DUR: 2.47
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Script:
UPSOT Maddow
The start of Rachel Maddow's 9pm show on Tuesday night had BIG expectations after she'd posted an intriguing teaser on Twitter earlier in the day.
"We've got Trump tax returns. Tonight, 9pm ET. Seriously."
Of course, Mr. Trump famously refused to release his tax returns throughout the campaign, even though it's been a tradition for presidential candidates since Watergate. He claimed he couldn't because they were under audit - despite the fact the Internal Revenue Service here in the US says that doesn't prevent them being published.
So… all eyes on the investigative financial journalist David Cay Johnston, who appeared alongside Rachel Maddow - after a LONG build up - to explain what he knew.
Two pages of Donald Trump's 2005 form had, he said, been sent to him in the post - a tiny part of what the complete return would have involved. But what did they say?
SOT - Johnston
So, effectively, by claiming losses from previous years, Mr Trump was able to save millions of dollars in taxes that he might otherwise have owed, paying a very low rate of tax altogether.
SOT 2 - Johnston
Script:
UPSOT Maddow
The start of Rachel Maddow's 9pm show on Tuesday night had BIG expectations after she'd posted an intriguing teaser on Twitter earlier in the day.
"We've got Trump tax returns. Tonight, 9pm ET. Seriously."
Of course, Mr. Trump famously refused to release his tax returns throughout the campaign, even though it's been a tradition for presidential candidates since Watergate. He claimed he couldn't because they were under audit - despite the fact the Internal Revenue Service here in the US says that doesn't prevent them being published.
So… all eyes on the investigative financial journalist David Cay Johnston, who appeared alongside Rachel Maddow - after a LONG build up - to explain what he knew.
Two pages of Donald Trump's 2005 form had, he said, been sent to him in the post - a tiny part of what the complete return would have involved. But what did they say?
SOT - Johnston
So, effectively, by claiming losses from previous years, Mr Trump was able to save millions of dollars in taxes that he might otherwise have owed, paying a very low rate of tax altogether.
SOT 2 - Johnston
It sounds a bit shocking, certainly - but what Mr Johnston described is not a crime, and certainly not the big scoop that Twitter might have led us to believe in the run up to the show.
The White House got ahead of the story before the show even aired, issuing a blunt statement criticising the network for publishing the document, an act which it said was illegal.
"You know you are desperate for ratings," it said, "when you are willing to violate the law to push a story about two pages of tax returns from a decade ago".
Leaking federal tax returns is illegal, but MSNBC argues it's exercising its first amendment right to publish information in the public interest. And it's interesting that by releasing the statement, the administration effectively indicated that these documents were genuine.
The White House then went on to add that Mr. Trump, as a businessman, had a responsibility to pay no more tax than legally required - but did pay 38-million-dollars in taxes on more than 150-million in income.
That, perhaps, is the most interesting effect of this story- not the figures themselves, but the fact that it elicited the first voluntary, public release of tax information by Mr. Trump or his administration. Correspondents will be hoping this small peek into his finances might pressure the president to release more. SOC.