Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Sarah Sanders Said Lawmakers Weren't Smart Enough to Go Through Trump's Taxes and Amy Klobuchar Just Had the Perfect 2-Word Response

Sarah Sanders Said Lawmakers Weren't Smart Enough to Go Through Trump's Taxes and Amy Klobuchar Just Had the Perfect 2-Word Response
Mark Wilson/Getty Images (left and right).

Short and not sweet.

Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders claimed that she doesn't think Congressional Democrats are "smart enough" to review President Donald Trump's tax returns should they manage to obtain them.

Speaking to "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace, Sanders characterized attempts to obtain the president's tax returns as "disgusting overreach," adding:


"This is a dangerous, dangerous road and frankly, Chris, I don't think Congress, particularly not this group of congressmen and women, are smart enough to look through the thousands of pages that I would assume that President Trump's taxes will be. My guess is most of them don't do their own taxes, and I certainly don't trust them to look through the decades of success that the President has and determine anything."

These remarks prompted a simple two-word response from Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who has been vocal in demanding that the president release his own tax returns:

And it looks like people want Klobuchar to go right ahead:

Ten members of Congress are accountants, according to the Congressional Research Service. They would undoubtedly have the knowledge required to look through the president's returns thoroughly. Three are trained as certified public accountants, professionals licensed by their states to do exactly what Sanders claims they're not "smart enough" to do.

Sanders' statements came after House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal issued a second formal request for the IRS to release Trump's tax returns. Neal cited IRS code 6103, a law that states that the House Ways and Means chairman, the head of the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Chairman of Senate Finance can ask for anyone's personal tax information for their committee's use.

"I expect a reply from the IRS by 5:00 p.m. on April 23, 2019. Please know that if you fail to comply, your failure will be interpreted as a denial of my request," Neal writes.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says he has "not personally spoken" with Attorney General William Barr about Neal's request.

"Those conversations have started, but it would be premature for me to conclude how long that will take, because as I've said these are complicated issues," said Mnuchin. "And I think it's more important to the American taxpayers that we get this right than we hit an arbitrary deadline."

He added:

"I'm not going to make a commitment prematurely as to whether we will be able to conclude our legal review within that deadline or not. Obviously, given the importance of this issue we have people working on this diligently. But again I would just emphasize this is a decision that has enormous precedence in potentially weaponizing the IRS. The chairman gave us a deadline last time. Again, we responded by that deadline. The Chairman is giving us a new deadline. I'm sure we'll respond by that deadline."

Trump is the first president in decades to break norms and not release his tax returns, citing an IRS audit. The IRS has said it does not prevent people from releasing their tax returns even if they are under audit.

Senator Klobuchar released her own tax returns ahead of the president's visit to her home state to tout his 2017 reforms to the tax code. These changes increased the size of the standard deduction, capped the state and local tax deduction at $10,000, and eliminated the deduction for unreimbursed business expenses.

Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) are among the Democratic presidential contenders to have also released their tax returns.

More from People

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting on religious liberty in education at the Museum of the Bible.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Trump criticized for downplaying domestic violence

Fair warning, dearest reader: This article discusses domestic violence and may be distressing to some readers. If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, resources are available, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

President Donald Trump has hit plenty of lows, but brushing off domestic violence at the Museum of the Bible may be a new entry in the hall of shame.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk; Scott Bessent
Tom Brenner For The Washington Post via Getty Images; Noam Galai/Getty Images

Musk Seemingly Reignites Black Eye Rumors With Reaction To Treasury Secretary's Latest Threat

So much has happened since May it might be hard to remember the days when Elon Musk was photographed in the Oval Office with a big ol' black eye.

But the internet certainly hasn't forgotten, and neither has Musk, who posted a cryptic X post seemingly referencing the alleged altercation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Nico Gramatica and Chase Leon embracing
ESPN

Players' hug after big win

College football season is back, baby, and apparently so is football romance.

The University of South Florida Bulls, who rolled into Gainesville as 18-point underdogs against the No. 15 Gators, pulled off a 20-yard nail-biter win. But instead of just celebrating the upset, kicker Nico Gramatica and punter Chase Leon gave fans something else to cheer about: a slow-motion-worthy embrace that had Twitter, Instagram, and everyone with a romcom fantasy spiraling.

Keep ReadingShow less
JD Vance
Alex Wroblewski-Pool/Getty Images

Vance's Outraged Tweet About Trump's Birthday Letter To Epstein Resurfaces—And It's Aged Horribly

While it is undoubtedly his only real role in the presidential administration, Vice President JD Vance's blind agreement with everything MAGA Republican President Donald Trump says or does hàs backfired again.

In July, The Wall Street Journal reported that back in 2003, Trump wrote a "raunchy" note to his good friend Epstein on the occasion of the notorious sex offender's 50th birthday. The report included the text of the note and the detail that it was in the silhouette of a woman; a mock-up of what it might look like appeared online soon after.

Keep ReadingShow less
A damaged room covered in grafitti
a run down room with graffiti all over the walls
Photo by Dillon Wanner on Unsplash

'Rage Room' Employees Describe The Most Unhinged Customers They've Encountered

Even the most even-tempered people have found themselves overcome with rage at one point or another.

Sometimes, the best way to deal with rage is to find an outlet for it.

Keep ReadingShow less