Andrew Kerr writes for the Washington Free Beacon about the California governor’s inconsistent support of transparency.
California governor Gavin Newsom made a bold pledge as he campaigned for his first term in 2017: He would release his tax returns to the public every year he serves in office, a move the Democrat described as the “moral duty” of “leaders seeking the highest offices.” Now, with less than a year remaining in his second term and a looming 2028 presidential campaign on the horizon, Newsom’s last five tax returns are nowhere to be seen.
Newsom said in 2019 that disclosing his returns would deter allegations of “conflicts of interest, self-dealing, or influence from domestic or foreign business interests.” News outlets like the Sacramento Bee praised the governor for setting a “standard of transparency” that could one day propel him to higher office.
Seven years later, Newsom is setting the stage for a White House bid in 2028 but hasn’t released tax returns since his reelection campaign in 2022, when he released his 2020 tax return.
Newsom’s pledge to release his taxes in 2017 was widely seen as a dig against President Donald Trump, who had refused to release his taxes during his 2016 campaign, saying they were under audit by the IRS. Presidential candidates are not legally required to release their tax returns to the public, but Trump’s refusal to do so broke decades of political precedent and prompted intense criticism from the left. In 2020, the New York Times obtained Trump’s tax returns dating back two decades. Two years later, when Democrats controlled the House, the Ways and Means Committee also released Trump’s taxes following a years-long legal battle that ended up in the Supreme Court, which rejected his efforts to block the release of his records.
The California governor’s apparent abandonment of his “transparency” pledge could follow the California governor as he runs for president.
