Senator Amy Klobuchar, one of the 18 Democrats currently seeking the 2020 presidential nomination, released her most recent
Klobuchar and her husband, John Bessler, filed jointly and paid $65,927 in federal income taxes. In addition to her Senate salary, Klobuchar reported $27,000 of profit from her book “The Senator Next Door: A Memoir.” Bessler, a lawyer and professor at the University of Baltimore, reported $168,000 from his work.
The Minnesota Democrat had already released 12 years of returns dating back to 2006.
Klobuchar is running as a traditional Democrat, presenting herself as an alternative to some of the progressive candidates fighting for dominance in her party, such as Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts or Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
She has supported cutting taxes for middle-income Americans, Obamacare and a minimum-wage hike. Her campaign said earlier this month that her campaign had raised $5.2 million in the first quarter of 2019.
“I believe in transparency and accountability — that’s why I’ve released my tax returns and why I’m calling on Donald Trump to finally release his tax returns and quit hiding from the American people,” Klobuchar said in a statement.
Trump will hold a rally today in Minnesota, Klobuchar’s home state, to tout the 2017 Republican tax overhaul.
House Democrats have asked the IRS to hand over Trump’s tax returns, citing a 1924 law that allows the chairmen of the tax-writing committee to demand the returns of any American taxpayer. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who oversees the agency, has asked the Justice Department to review the request. But Trump, White House officials, Republican members of Congress and the president’s lawyers have all said it would violate his privacy to do so.
Trump has said at times that he can’t release his returns because they are under audit, though there’s no prohibition from releasing returns to Congress or the public while being audited.
— With assistance from Saleha Mohsin
