Day 54: Leaked Tax Returns

The big news tonight is that somebody got hold of part of Trump's 2005 tax returns, and leaked them to the press (video + analysis). The White house is not happy. Trump claimed an income of $130 million, and paid income taxes of $36.5 million. Note that Trump paid a very similar tax rate to people earning between $50,000 and $100,000. I think most people will agree that his tax rate (24%) is not particularly fair. Also, he wants to get rid of the alternative minimum tax, which was responsible for about $30 million of his taxes.

• A new executive order: Trump wants to "reorganize" the executive branch. Reorganize being a euphamism for completely destroying federal agencies. As Shakesville points out: 1) the primary objective here is the elimination of whole agencies, 2) secondary objective is to privatize what can't be eliminated, and 3) there is no metric for valuing the benefits an agency brings. Note also that the people charged with defending their agencies are the people Trump put there, who were specifically chosen because they think their agencies shouldn't exist. This has Bannon's fingerprints all over it, and is going to be devastating. (Full text, fairly readable)
• Paul Ryan continues to be abominable, claiming that ditching 24 million people from health insurance is a good thing for the country, because it will make insurance costs go down slightly. The temerity of claiming the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) report suggests a good thing for the country is despicable.
• An important point that the CBO made in their report on the Republican health care plan: Obamacare is not imploding. Oops, that seems to be Trump and Ryan's favorite line...
• Republicans are trying to lift regulations on gun silencers. Because that's such a great idea, making it easier to get away with murder.
• Trump has broadened CIA powers to launch deadly drone strikes. In particular, removing the requirement of making sure that civilians aren't killed. How could this ever be a good idea? A friendly reminder that drone strikes are the biggest recruitment tool for terrorists.
• Trump hasn't donated his paychecks; is apparently looking for a "worthy cause". Aka, he's been caught out again.

Finally, in case you want to get up to speed, here is an overview of all of Trump's connections to Russia that we know about, going back 30 years. It's actually very concise.