With Newt Gingrich stumping for Washington lobbyist Tommy Thompson today in La Crosse, Wisconsin Democrats asked whether Gingrich would be calling on Secretary Thompson and Eric Hovde to release their tax returns, just as Gingrich had demanded of presidential rival Mitt Romney.
Secretary Thompson and Hovde, both multimillionaires with shady financial backgrounds, have steadfastly refused to reveal their complex web of investments, shell corporations and offshore investments. [1]
Speaking of Romney in January, Gingrich said of his tax returns, “Either there’s nothing there, so why isn’t he releasing them, or there’s something there, so why is he hiding them?”
“I believe we have the right to know.” [2]
Said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate: “Like Newt Gingrich, we believe the public has the right to know just what multimillionaire Washington insiders like Tommy Thompson and Eric Hovde are hiding from the public. We have the right to know whether they are investing in foreign corporations, instead of here in America. We have a right to know if they’re asking the middle class to pay more, while they advocate tax policies that make them richer. And we have a right to know whether they are taking advantage of huge tax loopholes that just aren’t available to average working families in Wisconsin.”
“Even Newt Gingrich understood that when it comes to hedge fund predators like Eric Hovde and Washington lobbyists like Tommy Thompson, the public has a right to know about their finances.”
[1] – Wisconsin Dems Call for GOP Senate Candidates’ Tax Returns (Menomonee Falls Patch, July 18, 2012)
[2] – Gingrich: Romney Owes it To Voters to Release His Tax Returns (Los Angeles Times, January 18, 2012)
