October 4, 2016 | No Comments
Donald Trump’s son Eric repeatedly dodged questions about the candidate’s federal income taxes in a post-debate interview with CNN.
“You can just put this to rest: Has your father paid federal income taxes?” Dana Bash asked.
“We pay a tremendous amount of taxes and beyond,” Eric Trump said.
“Federal income taxes,” Bash insisted. “My question is has he paid federal income taxes over the last 18 years?”
“Yes, absolutely, my father pays a tremendous amount of tax and we as a company hire a tremendous amount of people (which) leads to people being able to care for their children and families,” Trump said.
“So if we see your father’s income taxes, it will show he’s paid federal income taxes?” Bash tried again.
“There’s no question about it, we pay tremendous taxes as a company,” Eric Trump said, again avoiding the question of Donald Trump’s personal income taxes.
“Eric, I’m pretty impressed because you haven’t been, you haven’t been in politics and you’re doing the pivot quite well,” Bash quipped. She then asked if Eric Trump had personally seen his father’s tax returns and if they showed he paid federal income taxes.
“My father pays a tremendous amount of tax, as a company, and goes so far beyond federal income taxes,” Eric Trump said.
Trump did defend his father’s finances on another matter: After a clip of Tim Kaine’s allegations about the Trump Organization’s international entanglements, CNN’s John King asked Trump if the company owes money in Russia.
“We had no assets in Russia, we have no debt in Russia,” Eric Trump said. “I think we held Miss Universe in Russia, I think that’s the extent of our business dealings. We have no hotels, we have no golf assets, or residential buildings. We don’t have properties in Russia.”
King asked why Trump wouldn’t release his tax returns if he has nothing to hide about his overseas liabilities.
“Tax returns don’t show anything anyway,” Eric Trump said. “If you want to know if we have assets in Russia, go look to see if our name is on a building, see if we own any property. We’re a bricks and mortar company. The reality is we don’t. We just don’t.”