i'm joined by david k. johnston.'s a funny thing i guess when a president accuses fake news of being true. and therefore, he was angry that it was leaked. i don't think fake news gets leaked. i think real news gets leaked. he was mad from both ends. he's mad at you. he says you're a nobody. of course, you're not a nobody. you're a guy who's been covering this guy for a long time, you've written bookabout him. let me ask you this. how did you get this stuff? this amazing two pages of his 2005 tax return? >> chris, all 50 years that i've been a journalist, i've publi published my home address and my telephone number. unlike all those reporters you can't reach, i've always made myself available and i've gotten lots of things as a result september sent to me. this came in the mail to my home in rochester, new york, and at the moment that i learned of it, i was standing on the beach taking a picture with my iphone of mar-a-lago because i was down in palm beach doing research for my next book which is about donald trump. >

david k. johnston is a good reporter. let's get to the story.sources are telling the fox business network, sources close to president trump that his private legal team is weighing some sort of a legal case against msnbc and johnston over the publicatof those 2005 tax returns. they're looking at from what i understand, violations of federal privacy law. when johnston put the tax returns, it was two pages, i think 1040s, didn't show much but how much money he paid except for how much money he made which is a lot, taxes he paid which is a lot. i understand he is incensed. it was private information. it was given to them illegally. what i hear they're weighing some sort of a lawsuit. should point out that johnston is a former "new york times" reporter, expert attacks law. won a pulitzer prize for tax reporting. he published these tax returns on something called dc report.org. that is his website. he is private journalist. rachel maddow has fairly popular, particularly on the left, television news program on msnbc. i will say this, guys, legal expert

but the reference there about the reporter, this is david k. johnstonork times" reporter who brought the story to rachel maddow who says that the two-page summary of the trump tax returns just showed up in his mailbox and the president is saying he doesn't believe that. where i had a problem was when johnston and maddow speculating that maybe it was donald trump or one of his team that had leaked this to david k. johnston, impossible to believe because this guy is pretty anti-trump, wrote a book about trump last year, called trump b.t. barnum and worse. if they were going to leak it, which i don't believe by the way, that he would be the guy to get the special delivery in the mailbox. >> heather: should he continue along this line? i mean, people tend to love to have someone to hate and so the people kind of come on board and hate the mainstream media. is it working for him? >> well, you know, trump has clearly made a decision. of the president has that the press is so negative toward him. there has been an avalanche of negative press that started with

. >> and david k. johnston said he received the two page tax summary in the mail anonymously. and he talked about this this morning on "good morning america." >> everybody is on the minimum tax and if that tax can't existed he would have paid a tax rate on the $3 million lower than the average paid by the poorest half of americans. >> this morning trump going off on johnston, tweeting, does anybody really believe that a reporter who nobody ever heard of went to his mail dox and found my tax returns. fake news. but the document is accurate. the white house confirms the accuracy of the leaked document but said it was illegally obtained. and about president trump's claim that former president obama wiretapped trump tower, late this morning the top republican and democrat on the intelligence committee announced there is no indication, no evidence that trump tower was wiretapped. stephanie ramos, abc news, washington. >>> and now to your morning money report. get ready to pay more to borrow money. the federal reserve just raised short-term interest rates by a quarter percent and ex

whonalist david k johnston, received the forms anonymously in the mail, said there was nothing improper about showing the document, before adding -- >> it's entirely possible that donald sent this to me. over the years he has leaked all sorts of names. reporter: tax forms are a thorny issue for trump. during the campaign, hillary clinton constantly attacked him for his refusal to release his returns. the new york times revealed a 1996 tax form that suggested trump aborted paying federal in town -- income tax by using a loophole. trump supporters say it shows he is a savvy businessman, but critics say he is dishonest. laura: the revised travel ban is set to take place at midnight on thursday. the new executive order bars people from six mostly muslim countries from entering the united date. the previous order was thrown out by the courts and deemed unconstitutional. reporter: it's one of the first battlegrounds for president trump's revised travel ban. hawaii argues the executive order, signed earlier this month, will harm its muslim population as well as its tourism industry. it's one o

. >> reporter: david k. johnston unveiled the fest two pages of mr. trump's return on ms rachel maddow row. the show -- show. it showed president trump paid $38 million in taxes on income of more than $150 million, that's 25.3% tax rate. the white house confirmed the numbers in a statement. but said the president paid no more tax than legally required. after leaving michigan, president trump heads to tennessee to help sell the republican plan to repeal and replace obamacare to the public. the president met with conservative lawmakers wednesday including texas senator ted cruz. who remains unconvinced. >> brings up a good question of why house members would want to vote for this bill and pay the political price for voting for the bill. if it is doomed to failure in the senate. >> reporter: vice president mike pence is making his case for house republicans to support the bill, with a series of meetings on capitol hill today. craig boswell, cbs news. the white house. >> and the white house also announced today it will review obama administration rules re

. >> reporter: david k. johnston claimed on "the rachel mad dough show" he received the first two pages anonymously in the mail. >> it's entirely possible done-month-old sent this to me. he has leaked all sort of things. >> reporter: negative headlines about the gop health care plan to replace failure to back up his claim that president obama wiretapped him and investigations on russia. >> what do you the -- the russians have on him personally and politically? what will the tax returns tell us about that? >> reporter: this morning the white house fired back attacking media and calling this leaked document illegally obtained by authentic. we still don't know key information like his source of income or charitable donations. diane and kendis. >> all right, our kenneth moton in d.c., thank you. >>> kenneth mentioned the republican health care plan. well protesters turned out in the snow at house speaker paul ryan's office in wisconsin to denounce the plan. >> now, ryan and others who helped craft the proposal are facing

david k. johnston, a reporter for the website d.c. report.org. a longtime "new york times" reporter and an author of a book on donald trump. the forms show that donald trump paid $38 million in federal taxes on $152 million of reported income after writing off $103 million in business losses giving him an effective tax rate of 25%. david k. johnston said this to stephanie ruhle this morning. >> except for donald being so angry, i would have thought donald did it. he has a history of leaking information about himself. sometimes information that most people would think is damaging. in all likelihood, if he didn't send it, someone who is familiar with the very sophisticated reporting i do on taxes and knows that i'm trump's top biographer in terms of book sales, decided that i have the knowledge to extract the maximum amount of information in those two pages and sent it to me. >> nbc's kelly o'donnell joins us from the white house. interesting. david cay johnson is a very well known journalist. he's a tax

30 minutes before msnbc's rachel madaw went on the air to discuss a trump document leaked to david k. johnston. johnston said he got the document in the mail from an anonymous source, and tonight the white house released a statement saying the media was just "desperate for ratings" and trump broke years of tradition during the 2016 presidential campaign by refusing to release his tax returns. >>> we have good news for you if you're planning to see the cherry blossoms, there's some hope they may bloom after all. >> you not believe every piece of advice you hear when it comes to navigating icy roads. we will verify if they are true. >>> it's the one thing most people can agree on when it comes to snow. scraping your car is no fun. tonight we will reveal a surprisingly easy solution. the markets change... at t. rowe price... our disciplined approach remains. global markets may be uncertain... but you can feel confident in our investment experience around the world. call us or your advisor... t. rowe price. invest with confidence. may not always be clear. but at t. rowe price, we can help guide yo

according to this return mailed to former "new york times" reporter david k. johnston revealed by msnbc's rachel maddow. $150 million with a $150 million writeoff. >> 20% discount. would you like to have a 20% discount on your taxes in. >> the president had a responsibility to pay no more tax than legally required. >> he didn't pay any federal income tax. >> that makes me smart. >> during the campaign, mr. trump promised to release his returns after an audit. a white house adviser later said he would not. he is facing tax questions as he heads to michigan to announce he is rolling back obama fuel standards and nashville to support the tax plan. >> he wants to make insurance available to everybody. yes, that's what he intends to do. >> the congressional budget office says 24 million people would lose coverage. >> fewer people buying coverage. when they do, they buy skimpier coverage. stk >> the white house challenging both. and we are continuing to watch what happens with both of those stories, including that tax return today that, by the way, does not tell us where the

david k. johnston, he was long with "new york times." he is private journalist. issues. >> really. i always found him to be a credible guy. rachel maddow, say what you not. she he is liberal but a nice person. but the fact of the matter protects liberals too. charles: charlie gasparino. good stuff. appreciate it. thanks. right after this. .. thanks for doing this, dad. so i thought it might be time to talk about a financial strategy. you mean pay him back? so let's start talking about your long-term goals. knowing your future is about more than just you. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. charles: you heard charlie gasparino's report that trump's private legal team:00 pm on the foxbusiness network i will break down the budget and what it means for you. a lot of talk from both parties but we will be on the talking points, the budget and the agenda that has everything to do with your wallet. foxbusiness will give youhe financial news you need throughout the day. trish: we are moments away from sean spicer speaking alongside mick mulvaney. any minute to

david k. johnston sharing two pages of the returns with host rachel madowl. >> donald trump's tax returns surfaced. >> this morning the president firing back with his weapon of choice, twitter. does anybody really believe that a reporter who nobody ever heard of went to his mailbox and found my tax returns? nbc news, fake news. the documents verified by the white house showing then businessman trump paying taxes on $150 million income. a tax rate of 25%. >> where it came from is the key question going forward. >> all as more questions bubble to the surface about the viable of the health care act. it will get the 216 votes needed to pass in the lower chambers of commerce. >> it's going through regular order on its way to law. sure there's people who have concerns or criticisms but that's what happens when you get consensus. >> another question could get answered today as fbi director jam comey may publicly announce if a russian investigate will happen or is already underway. in washington, joel waldman,

. >> eric: david k. johnston wrote a book last year, an anti-trump book.e had a motivation and doing it. and all these people, even my friend mark cuban, who says -- if you make 150 million bucks after taxes, after write-offs, in a year, i'm guessing he's a real billionaire. >> greg: on that note, catch more of president trump's interview with tucker carlson at 9:00 p.m. tonight. president trump hitting the road today. highlights next. man: i'll have the meat loaf. what about you? sorry, just getting a quote on motorcycle insurance from progressive. yeah? yeah, they have safe rider discounts, and with total loss coverage, i get a new bike if mine's totaled. but how's their customer service? great. 24/7. just like here. meat loaf! [dings bell] just like here. anybody got a pack... that needs leadin'? serving all your motorcycle insurance needs. now, that's progressive. b3 we are a couple hours away from a big make america great rally for president donald trum donald trump, this time in nashville. before heading to tennessee, the president visited michigan w

according to former new york times george immaterial david k johnston, the returns simply arrived in the mail. >> came in the mail over the transome. there is absolutely nothing improper about journalists getting it over the transome. >> reporter: the white house tried to release the same information and said it was illegal. you know you are desperate for ratings if you are willing to violate the law to push a story about two pages of tax returns from over a decade ago. trump's refusal to release his returns became an ongoing campaign issue with hillary clinton suggesting he may not have paid tacks at all. in reality the effective tax rate was only a bit below what average top earners were paying that year. >> if donald trump paid what was the equivalent i guess of about 25% in federal taxes. >> yes. >> federal income taxes, i think he needs a better tax attorney. is that -- i mean, if i were trump, i wouldn't be worried about this at all. >> still democrats will keep up the heat on trump, arguing that his claim that he can't release the returns because of audits just doesn't hold up

that's what president trump paid in taxes in 2005 according to this return mailed to david k. johnstonealed by rachel maddow. making his effective tax rate 25%. >> that's a 20% discount on your taxes. would you like a 20% discount on your taxes? >> reporter: the white house says the president had a responsibility to pay no more tax than legally required. >> he didn't pay any federal income tax. >> reporter: during the campaign, mr. trump promised to release his returns after an aud audit. the president facing tax questions today as he heads to michigan to announce he's rolling back obama fuel standards and to nashville to push the republican health plan. >> the president's plan is to make insurance available to everybody. that's what he intends to do. >> is there anyone left in the country that actually likes it? >> reporter: 24 million people would lose coverage. >> fewer old people are buying insurance. >> reporter: new numbers on the cost of health care and the president's taxes with the white house challenging both. now, it's important to note what we don't learn from this one-year

according to this return mailed to former "new york times" reporter david k. johnstonis income, more than 150 million with 1$100 million writeoff for business losses making his effective tax rate 25%. >> that's a 20% discount on your taxes. would you like a 20% discount on your taxes? that's what donald trump got. >> in a statement the white house said the president had a responsibility to pay no more tax than legally required. >> he didn't pay any federal income tax. >> that makes me smart. >> reporter: during the campaign mr. trump promised to release his returns after an audit. the president facing tax questions today as he hes to michigan to announce he's rolling back obama fuel standards and to national to push the republican healthcare plan. >> the president's goal is to make healthcare insurance affordable for everybody. >> trumpcare has been public for one week now. is there anyone left in the country who likes it? >> reporter: the congressional budget office says 24 million people would lose coverage. >> fewer old people buying insurance, the people who buy in

from the web site run by david k. johnstonhy would dimitry rybolovlev's plane scurry to odd destinations like charlotte and concord, north carolina, as well as new york, burbank and miami to arrive there precisely when donald trump was there?" david kay johnston then asks the obvious question, was rybolovlev a putin emissary? joining us now is david kay johnston, editor and founder of the d.c. report.org which published that report and the author of "the making of donald trump." david cay johnson, great to say you, thank you for being with us tonight. >> thank you. >> we started looking at the fertilizer guy through the lens of him having bought this florida mansion from trump for more than what trump paid for. it seemed like a way for somebody to pay donald trump more than $15 million. what got you started on him and on the mystery of his plane showing up so many places that trump is? >> well, the report that we ran, which is about 10,000 words long, was written by jim henry, who has also been tracing bankers and wealthy peop

this morning, it said that the documents were obtained by pulitzer prize winning journalist david k johnstonthey were shared on the rachel maddow show. johnston speculated on the show that these tax returns were leaked by mr. trump himself or someone associated with mr. trump. willis in atlanta, georgia. a democrat. good morning to you. caller: hello. host: good morning, go ahead. caller: i would just like to say that i believe donald trump released the taxes and self so he could distract what is going on with the russia investigation. i do not understand why donald trump would not release his tax returns, because it would clear up a lot of things going on. the 2005 taxes do not really mean anything, because they were only two pages. he needs to release more taxes or recent filings so we can find out what is going on with his business ties. -- hedonald trump had not is making a mockery of the government. that he makeshem the united states government look real small. he is making them look real foolish. has tweetedesident out this morning already. he has tweeted his reaction to this news "doe

. >> reporter: msnbc rachel madow says tax returns were released to david k. johnston. the two leaked pages, revealing an income of $153 million that year. paying $38 million in taxes. nothing in the documents answered questions on whether donald trump's business had any ties to russia or other foreign enties. >> the greater concern worry this president may be financially beholding to an individual, an institution, to a country. we can't know any of that without getting his tax returns. that's why presidents release their tax returns. >> reporter: in a statement the white house confirmed the tax returns accuracy and condemns the leak saying, "it is totally illegal to steal and publish tax returns. the dishonest media continues to make this a part of their agenda, while the president will focus on his, which includes tax reforms to benefit all americans." >> the question is what happens after this? do we get a slow drift of the taxes all the way up to 2015, the time period in which there's the actual tax audit? >> reporter: as a candidate and now president donald trump h

fact that rachel maddow seemed giddy at times so reveling in this revelation, was the fact that david k. johnston"new york times" reporter who says two pages showed up in his mailbox and brought them to the maddow show, maybe went on to speculate, maybe donald trump or one of those people sent it to me. he has no idea who it was that mailed it to him. that kind of speculation, you know i think david johnson, who wrote anti-trump book last year compared the president to p.t. barnum would be last guy trump would leak it to if indeed the president was behind it, i have no reason to believe. melissa: except it was good for him. that is the only thing. it showed, that it was always he didn't make any money. and he didn't pay any federal tax this proved that he made a ton of money. he paid a painful amount of tax, in my estimation, just absolutely kills me slim on treadmill and everything else washington wastes it on and dagger to the heart to see that. none of the allegations from hillary clinton. it does kind of seem like there was nothing bad in it for trump, for the president, pardon me, for the pr

where david k. johnston who happened to won a pulitzer prize for covering this, we don't kno know. don't think donald trump was that upset about this leak. >> i agree. the question you asked chuck schumer, does that contradict the claims from hillary clinton, the answer to that is of course it does but he has to make up all sorts of additional charges. >> bret: there is only so much time for an interview. >> he -- you asked. he could've given the answer. it was a right question. he just didn't answer it honestly prayed he went on to speculate. this is so ironic. he has spent a lot of time criticizing donald trump for making things up or speculating irresponsibly. a lot of that criticism of it is valid. here you have them sing well, the tax returns could indicate he had money from the russians, may be saudi arabia. maybe he didn't include them on the list. this is just speculation of the kind we've gotten used to from harry reid. it is irresponsible. shouldn't be engaging. if you want to make an argument donald trump should release his tax returns, i would agree. but don't go and do

. >>> david k. johnston telling our rachel rachel maddow last night. making it more expensive to borrow money. this is the second rate hike in the last three months the central bank intends to raise rates at least two more times this year. and more americans are defaulting on student loans. student loan defaults jumping nearly 17% last year according to a review of government data by the consumer federation of america and the justice department announcing that four people have been indicted in connection with a massive data breach at yahoo. this intrusion affected at least half a billion yahoo user accounts. one of the suspects now in custody in canada. pete williams joins us now. what is the latest we know about this? >> one person arrested in canada and the other three in russian. what the justice department department officials say is that two officials of the fsb, the successor to the kgb who work in a unit responsible for investigating cybercrimes were directing this attack, hiring two hackers to do the dirty work for them. they say the russians w

where david k. johnston who happened to won a pulitzer prize for covering this, we don't kno know. i don't think donald trump was that upset about this leak. >> i agree. the question you asked chuck schumer, does that contradict the claims from hillary clinton, the answer to that is of course it does but he has to make up all sorts of additional charges. >> bret: there is only so much time for an interview. >> he -- you asked. he could've given the answer. it was a right question. he just didn't answer it honestly prayed he went on to speculate. this is so ironic. he has spent a lot of time criticizing donald trump for making things up or speculating irresponsibly. a lot of that criticism of it is valid. here you have them sing well, the tax returns could indicate he had money fromussians, may be saudi arabia. maybe he didn't include them on the list. this is just speculation of the kind we've gotten used to from harry reid. it is irresponsible. shouldn't be engaging. if you want to make an argument donald trump should release his tax returns, i would agree. but don't go and do thi

she said she got them from david k johnston who says someone emailed him the documents anonymously. >> the first amendment gives us the right to publish then. >> it's possible donald sent this to me. >> the returns show that in 2005 president trump paid more than $31 million in the alternative minimum tax. it's a tax the president has said he wants to abolish. >>> the massive rally to protect muslims and immigrants from deportation is about to get under way today at the state capital. kpix 5's maria medina is live in san jose where thousands are expected to leave this morning for the march. >>> good morning. we are talking more than 1500 people from the state. they are fighting for two bills. they support the california values act which says that no state or local resources will go in helping the federal government in mass deportations. it also says that schools, hospitals and courthouses are safe zones for everyone. they also support the religious freedom act which says california will not take part in a muslim registry. now this all comes at the heels of local law enforcement leader

aaccording to david k. johnston the the return came in the mail. >> it came in the mail and there's nothing improper about journalists if you have not slised it getting it. >> the white house tried to get a jump releasing the same information and suggesting last night's legal. >> you are two payments of tax returns from over a decade ago. >> it become an ongoing campaign inissue rawvlry -- in reality the effective tax rate was a but be mow. >> i think he need a better tax attorney. why is that? if i were trump i would not be worried of it at all he claims he cannot release his returns because of ongoing audits and they believe the president himself sent the documents in the mail. >> he has a long history. leaking material when he thinks it's in his interest. tweeting about this a few minutes ago. he says does anybody really believe a reporter who nobody ever heard of went to mailbox and found my tax return? then he said@nbc news fake news we'll have more on this to come for sglur light laving the mood a little bit.

. >> but investigative journalist, david k johnston, believes the president himself sent him the document, in the mail. >> long history of leaking material about himself when he thinks it is in his interest. >> this all comes after the release of president trump's 1995 tax returns to the new york times during the election. which showed a loss of nearly a billion dollars. in los angeles, mary ann rafferty, fox news. >> good morning, everybody, five doctor 126789 we will go for a ride. the northeast ex it n sean, ice ice baby is the sign we're playing. and not only here but in your car this morning. everything is a sheet of ice. let's go outside. take live look, as we get ready to wake up wilmington, good morning to you. we'll check the jam cams, scotty's got your forecast whether we could come right back. >> let's get a check of this forecast, scott? >> very icy, karen, feels like temperatures in the single digits, across the area for today. we'll likely stay below freezing, look at the forecast, center city, high temperature of 30 degrees, cold, windy, some passing flurries, down the shor

reporter david k. johnston saying the partial return came to him in the mail anonymously, but suggesting it might have been sent by the president himself. >> trump as a long history of leaking material about himself when he thinks it's in his interests. >> reporter: the white house confirming the numbers but dismissing their significance. in a statement saying, quote, you know you are desperate for ratings when you are willing to violate the law to push a story about two-pages of tax returns from over a decade ago. the president as a candidate repeatedly said he would not release his tax returns because of an irs audit. >> will the president commit to releasing his tax returns for this year and is he still under audit for his tax returns? >> my understanding is he is still under audit and i'll follow-up. >> reporter: the willingness to release information when it suits them is a sham. democrats should return focus to trumpcare tomorrow and the millions it will leave uninsured. not get distracted by two pages fr

want reporter says he found them in his mail box on monday, david k johnston says the president himself may have forwarded the documents to him to prove he actually does pay taxes, which is in doctor contradiction to what a lot of democrats including hillary clinton said during the campaign. the white house taking a what can saying it is totally illegal to steal and publish tax returns. the dishonest media continue to make this part of their agenda while the president will focus on his, which is tax reform that will benefit all americans. the president made a lot of money, he was a successful businessman but he also paid a lot of taxes. what else is on his agenda today? he's headed to michigan where he's going to talk about fuel efficiency standards and auto ee milthsz with auto makers there. they'll likely stop the obama epa rule on emission, calling for cars to have 50 mile per hours by the year 2025, the white house position is that's burdensome regulation. it needs to be somewhere between 27.5 which it currently is and 50 but probably not 50. then tonight a big campaign style rally

. >> but investigative journalist david k johnston believes the president himself sent him the document in the mail. >> long history of leaking material about himself when he thinks it is in his interest. >> all comes after the release of president trump's 1995 tax returns to the new york times during the election, which showed a loss of nearly a billion dollars. in los angeles, mary ann rafferty, fox news. >> confessions from a dad. the video full of laughs, the dad being interviewed, why he is not blaming his kids this morning about what happened here. but first, sean bell? >> coming up in sports in a minute, find out who villanova will face tomorrow night and why the shortest guy in the tournament may be the biggest problem. that's coming up next in sports >>> this is fox 29 sports in one minute. >>> good morning, i'm sean bell. the ncaa tournament started last night and it started off with a bang. mount saint mary's, new orleans, fighting for the right to play villanova on thursday. late in the game the shortest junior robinsonl, getting it hitting this jumper right here to give the

getting a glimpse and i do mean a glimpse at president trump's financials after tax reporter david k. johnstonly received two pages of donald trump's tax returns in the mail according to him. they show in 2005 mr. trump paid $ $38 million in federal income taxes on a reported income of 150 million. joining me now to talk about is investor, one of the hosts of shark tank, owner of the dallas mavericks, star of billions and shark 3, mark cuban, thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> what do you think about it? >> he had a good year. anybody who makes $150 million, you applaud them and you say congratulations and you know how well they did that year and really doesn't tell you anything else. >> he paid an effective tax rate of 25%. >> right. >> turns out we looked at some of other people whose tax returns we've seen, that is a higher rate than mitt romney paid in 2011 -- >> if you know you're going to have a big windfall like he sold a big building that year, you're going to aggregate all your expenses to push down. and because of the alternative minimum tax, you can only get it down

david k. johnstonuments obtained by johnston he paid on 1$153 million in income for an efktive tax rate of roughly 24%. that's below the 27.4% average for taxpayers earning $1 million a year according to data from the congressional joint committee on taxation. the ybz for treme. row lessed those by jaunts. and sdw there is absolutely nothing improper about journalists getting it over the loan. and it's entirely pausesable downled sent this to me. >> reporter: every nominee since hiz rich rtd rmhas released the returns. >>> dianne and kendis. >> and the other question swl or not if as lec ttd too. >> that teemnts to bow to and it where they're coming up for. >>> we're going to turn now to the other top story and the brutal cold temperatures left in the monster blizzard. >> reducing snowfall for major snow showers. now erv upstate new york and ca. she made schools into the close. the storm grounded more than 6200 flights and delayed nearly 2,000 more pood. trrs and wind gusts ofithy me me relationship an

investigative journalist david k. johnston getting the first two pages of 2005 taxes, paying $38 million on taxes on more than $150 million in income, giving him an effective tax rate of roughly 25%. the white house confirming the figures in a statement on tuesday night. the move comes as the white house is battling negative headlines on the gop health care bill and the president's wiretapping claims, prompting johnston to speculate whether the president himself or one of his staffers sent him the document anonymously. >> do you think it's possible he could have sent them to you? >> i think it's entirely possible. remember donald has a long history of leaking information about himself. >> reporter: democrats largely dismissing the tax disclosure. >> i don't think we learned anything at all interesting tonight. this report tonight would be a mistake for democrats to get distracted by. >> president trump are's son suggesting the release was positive development. breaking news, 12 years ago, donald trump made a lot of money and p

specifically about david k. johnston, the investigative reporter who says he got this in the mail. does anybody really believe that a reporter who nobody ever heard of, the president wrote, went to his mailbox and found my tax returns? fake news! and then he also sent out, the white house sent out a pretty long statement criticizing this, suggesting that it was illegal. and then later there was an addendum that said you know you're desperate for ratings when you're willing to violate the law to push a story about two pages of tax returns from over a decade ago. despite the substantial income figure and tax paid, it's totally illegal to steal and publish tax returns. which it is not necessarily. and finally, we asked why then if the president got out ahead of this, and they made a decision before this went out on air last night to release the tax returns. then doesn't it kind of go in the face of what their claim has been that he can't release any tax returns while he is under audit. but the response from the white house is, why would we validate or incentivize the illegal publishin

journalist david k. johnston said he received the return unsolicited by u.s. mail.dent trump tweeting today "does anybody really believe the reporter who nobody ever heard of went to his mailbox and found my tax returns? nbc news, fake news." we should note that the president's spokesperson verified the numbers reported last night. the return shows income of more than $150 million. and the return shows president trmp trump paid $38 million in federal income tax, tax rate around 28%. 85% of the taxes paid was a tax on the wealthy. president trump vowed to kill this tax if elected. if the amt didn't exist, trump would have only paid a fraction of his 2005 bill, about $7 million. president of the american action forum, former chief economic policy adviser to senator john mccain's 2008 presidential campaign and former director of the congressional budget office. nice to see you, sir. >> thanks for having me on. >> we should add, though, he paid at a higher rate than senator bernie sanders. >> considerably higher rate. this is not uniformly good news for democrats. they

does anyone really believe that a reporter who nobody ever heard of, david k. johnstonington, michigan or nashville speech today. steve: he did say it is fake news. we had david bossie, counselor to the president of the united states on this program an hour ago. and he says this is just more of that fake news stuff that has hounded mr. trump. listen to this. >> this is con this continuatiof this fake news store fog on to undermined this president for the last two years. all throughout the campaign and all throughout the transition. all we heard at campaign the president paid no taxes. the president paid no taxes. the president paid no taxes. he is afraid of his tax returns. 2005 alone, $38 million in federal taxes on top of the sales taxes, every other state tax and local taxes that he has to pay. so it is enormous sum of money he paid. brian: dnc came out and said only reason team trump is not releasing complete returns to hide ties with russia. steve: russia. ainsley: we have his tax returns. everything is aboveboard. all it proves he made a lot of money and paid a lo

david k. johnston who could only speculate where they came from. >> seen them in the mail and there is absolutely nothing improper about journalists, if you haven't solicited something getting it over the transom. it's possible that donald trump sent these to me. donald trump over the years has leaked all sorts of things. >> the president said an effective income tax rate of about 25% because of the alternative minimum tax. mitt romney, by comparison, paid 14% and took heavy fire about that during the 2012 campaign. as maddow prepared to go on the air last night, the white house acknowledged the document's veracity and writing in statement this. that being said, mr. trump paid $38 million even after taking into account large scale of depreciation for construction of an income more than $150 million as well as paying tens of millions of dollars in other taxes such as sales and excise taxes and employment taxes and this illegally published return proves just that. despite the substantial income figure an

2005 tax return were mysteriously leaked to pulitzer prize winning investigative journalist david k. johnston came in the mail over the transom. nothing improper about journalist, if you haven't solicited something, getting it over the transom. >> reporter: president trump paid $38 million on federal taxes on more than $150 million in income, giving the president an effective rate of 25.3%. in an msnbc interview, johnston said he did not know the source, but speculated it might even be mr. trump himself. >> donald has a long history of leaking material about himself when he thinks it's in his interest. >> shortly afterwards don junior chimed in, thank you rachel may dow for proving to your trump hating followers how successful donald trump is and he paid $40 million in taxes. despite a tradition of presidential nominees releasing tax returns, mr. trump has refused to do so. the trump campaign argued that the public didn't need or want to know. >> i will release them as soon as the audit -- i've been under audit almost for 15 years. >> reporter: his refusal became an issue when "the new york t

according to former new york times journalist, david k johnston, the returns simply arrived in the mail. >> came in the mail over the tran some. and there is actually nothing improper about journalists, if you haven't solicited something, getting it over the tran some. >> white house tried to get a jump on the news releasing the same information and suggesting that last night's reporting was legal. you know you are looking for ratings willing to violate a story about two page every tax returns from over a decade ago. trump's refusal to release his returns became an ongoing campaign issue. but rival hillary clinton at one point is suggesting he may not have paid any taxes at all n reality, trump's effective tax rate was only a bit below what average top earners were paying that year. >> if donald trump paid what was the equivalent i guess of about 25%, in federal taxes, federal income taxes, i think he needs a better tax attorney. i mean, i mean, if i were trump, i wouldn't be worried about this at all. >> still democrats will keep up the heat on trump. arguing that his claim that he can