2020 roundup: Sanders again promises to make tax returns public
MALCOM, IA — Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders promised to release his tax returns "very very shortly," but did not specify exactly when in an interview with NBC News.
"April 15th is coming and we’re gonna do our taxes for this year and that will be the tenth year," Sanders said. In February, the senator promised to release them "sooner than later" during a televised town hall on CNN.
Asked by NBC why he won't release what he has so far, he said "We are, [just] not right this minute," before joking "you think I have them in my back pocket?"
Other Democratic candidates have already released their tax returns, in the hopes of putting pressure on both their intra-party rivals as well as President Trump, who has repeatedly refused to release his returns.
New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Washington Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee have all released their returns for this year. And Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren released 10 years of returns last year.
There's far more brewing on the 2020 trail than just this story—read on for a roundup of what you may have missed.
- New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker's campaign announced it raised $5 million in the first fundraising quarter and has $6.1 million on hand. There are still some question marks—including how much the campaign transferred from Booker's Senate account, how much it spent and how many individual donors gave to the campaign—that will be answered once candidates officially file by April 15.
- Politico reports that a top aide to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is moving over to the mayor's political action committee as de Blasio weighs a run for president. De Blasio was in Nevada this past weekend for an event.
- NBC's Morgan Radford and Aaron Franco profile the "Breakfast Club" radio show, which is turning into an important stop for 2020 Democratic hopefuls looking to reach out to minority listeners.