Daily Trump Tracker: The tax return cometh

The tax return cometh

The White House finally declared how much President Donald Trump paid in taxes—albeit back in 2005. And they only offered up the info because MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow was about to report on two pages of Trump’s 2005 tax return on her evening newscast. For the record, Trump paid about $38 million in income tax on a reported income exceeding $150 million—an effective tax rate of 24 per cent.

Trump called the report fake news, saying no one has never heard of the reporter who obtained the documents. That reporter, David Cay Johnston, happens to be a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.

About that wire-tapping clam

First, Trump tweeted that Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower last year. Then, facing a dearth of evidence, press secretary Sean Spicer said, employing air quotes around “wiretapping,” that the president meant different types of surveillance—but not necessarily wiretapping. Then on Wednesday, House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes—a Republican—said neither he nor his Democratic counterpart have seen any evidence of wiretapping. “I don’t think there was an actual tap of Trump Tower," Nunes told reporters.

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Snoop vs. Trump

Trump is weighing in on Snoop Dogg’s latest music video in which the rapper aims a toy gun at a parody of the president dressed like a clown—and pull the trigger.

Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, was equally upset, telling TMZ: “It’s totally disgraceful. Snoop owes the president an apology.”

For those curious, here’s the music video in question. Don’t watch if you get creeped about by clowns.