Romney stands firm, no new tax returns

Romney's wealth of $250 mn surfaces as a campaign issue, Obama tries to paint him as out of touch with ordinary Americans

I / Washington July 17, 2012, 13:48 IST

Mitt Romney defied mounting pressure from President Barack Obama and even some Republicans to release more tax returns, as the White House battle grows increasingly acrimonious.

Romney yesterday lashed out at the Obama team's "dishonest" attacks on his business record, but the president again questioned his rival's credentials and Democrats repeated charges that the Republican flag-bearer may have committed a felony over his Bain Capital disclosures.

The sparring and persistent personal nature of the attacks has ramped up dramatically in the past week as both campaigns brace for a steamy summer of political punch and counterpunch.

The focus has veered between Romney's time running Bain Capital and his tax records, with the presumptive nominee standing firm even as some in his own party advise him to release more information.

"We're going to put out two years of tax returns," Romney told the "Fox & Friends" program, referring to the 2010 return he has already released and the full 2011 return he has vowed to release before the November 6 election.

He pointed to 2008 Republican nominee John McCain, who released two years of returns, and 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, whose wealthy wife "never released her tax returns."

"Somehow this wasn't an issue," he added.

The White House argues that Romney's lack of transparency shows he has something to hide, and some leading Republicans are urging their candidate to act now before the issue overshadows his campaign.

"He should release the tax returns tomorrow. It's crazy," iconic conservative commentator William Kristol said on "Fox News Sunday."

Governor Robert Bentley of Alabama and several other leading conservative figures have also called on Romney to release more tax data.

Romney's wealth, estimated at $250 million, has repeatedly surfaced as a campaign issue as Obama tries to paint his rival as out of touch with ordinary Americans.

Much of his fortune lies hidden in a network of opaque offshore investments in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.

Democrats have launched a coordinated assault on Romney's use of offshore tax havens and on his time running the private equity firm he founded, which the candidate touts as business experience for turning around the flagging US economy.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, called Friday for an apology for the intensifying character assassination by the Obama campaign, only to have the president say he wasn't sorry for probing his Bain record.