Hillary Clinton Campaign Ad Promises 4 things Donald Trump Could Be Hiding in His Tax Returns

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has made it pretty clear he won’t be releasing his tax returns in time for the 2016 election, and the Hillary Clinton campaign continues to press the attack on that issue. On Wednesday, the campaign released a web ad that promises “4 things Donald Trump could be hiding in his tax returns,” but in reality, really only delivered on two, at most:

While it is possible that Trump’s tax returns could reveal a much lower net worth than he claims, and his charitable giving or lack thereof could be an issue, Trump isn’t hiding the fact that he pays as little in taxes as he possibly can. It’s in the video, and it’s something he’s said in interviews with some frequency. And “something else” isn’t actually a thing.

What’s rather brilliant about the ad is that it contains the sort of speculation that could never make it into a news report, but which will now be disseminated by news organizations reporting on the ad all the same. Less brilliant is the fact that the “what’s he hiding” premise gives Trump and Hillary’s other opponents another opening to attack her over the transcripts to her Wall Street speeches, not that any of them need such an opening.

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