Melania Trump Earned Modeling Money

Former First Lady Melania Trump earned money for modeling during her last year in the White House, former President Donald Trump's tax returns indicate.

According to a review of the Trumps' 2020 tax returns that was conducted by CBS News, Melania listed $3,848 in income from modeling. The documents did not specify exactly what kind of modeling the former first lady did that year, but CBS noted the income was listed in the "taxes and licensing" section of that year's tax documents.

The document is part of six years of tax return data the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee released on Friday. The committee received access to the Trumps' tax returns following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in November. Democrats on the committee voted to release the tax returns to the public last week.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Release 'A New Low'

Several House Republicans have taken to Twitter to respond to the Democrat-led House Ways and Means Committee's decision to publicly release former President Donald Trump's tax information.

Georgia Representative and staunch Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Green called the release "a new low" for Democrats.

"The Democrats illegally releasing President Trump's personal tax records is a new low in the biggest political persecution of any President in history," she said in a tweet.

Greene said the release only shows "how successful" Trump is and that he always followed the IRS rules.

Representative Adrian Smith of Nebraska said the release serves a "legislative or oversight purpose" within the Ways and Means Committee's jurisdiction.

"This is a horrible precedent and will do nothing to achieve Democrats' supposed goal of fixing the IRS's Presidential Audit process," he tweeted.

Alabama Representative Barry Moore blasted Democrats for continuing to focus on the former president amid a "historic inflation crisis."

"Where is the committee tasked with our nation's tax policy focused? Donald Trump," he said in a tweet. "Imagine if Democrats dutifully attacked the problems facing the American people with the same enthusiasm misspent on their political enemies."

Committee Chair Slams 'Failure' of IRS Audit Program

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal slammed the "failure" of the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Mandatory Audit Program under former President Donald Trump's administration, following an investigation of the program.

"Our review found that under the prior administration the program was dormant," Neal said in a statement Friday. "We know now, the first mandatory audit was opened two years into his presidency. On the same day this Committee requested his returns."

His statement comes after the House Committee released a batch of former President Donald Trump's tax returns. The Committee also voted to release its investigation into the IRS's audit program, calling it "dormant, at best."

Below is part of Neal's opening statement:

"Ways and Means is entrusted with great responsibilities. Today, the weight of our job is heavy. Congress serves as a check on the Executive Branch, and our Committee is entrusted with oversight of our revenue system. We all come to Ways and Means with the goal of creating a fairer tax code. Because at the root of it all, it is our federal tax system that funds the democracy we all cherish and love.

Our voluntary collection relies on the public confidence that our tax laws are applied evenly and justly, regardless of position or power. For four years, the Committee has been reviewing how the IRS enforces the federal tax laws against, and ensures compliance by, a president.

A president is no ordinary taxpayer. They hold power and influence unlike any other American. And with great power comes even greater responsibility.

We are only here today because four years ago, our request to learn more about the program under 6103 was denied. This was the first time that this key oversight function was hampered, and our Committee's jurisdiction was challenged.

The Committee expected that these mandatory audits were being conducted promptly and in accordance with IRS policies. However, our review found that under the prior Administration the program was dormant. We know now, the first mandatory audit was opened two years into his presidency. On the same day this Committee requested his returns.

We anticipated the IRS would expand the mandatory audit program to account for the complex nature of the former president's financial situation yet found no evidence of that. This is a major failure of the IRS under the prior administration, and certainly not what we had hope to find.

But the evidence is clear. Congress must step in. I've proposed legislation to put the program above reproach. Ensuring IRS conducts yearly, timely examinations while publicly disclosing certain information.

Our work has always been to ensure our tax laws are administered fairly and without preference, because at times, even the power of a president can loom too large."

Several Trump Businesses Included in Release

With the full release of Donald Trump's tax returns from 2015 to 2020, key information will be publicized regarding the former president's business entities.

The full batch of tax returns will include tax information from:

• Donald J Trump
• Donald J Trump Recoverable Trust
• DJT Holdings LLC
• DJT Holdings Managing Member LLC
• DTTM Operations LLC
• DTTM Operations Managing Member Corp. LLC
• LFB Acquisitions Corp.
• LFB Acquisition LLC
• Lamington Farm Club, LLC d/b/a Trump National Golf Club-Bedminster

These only represent a portion of the more than 400 separate business entities to which Trump is financially linked.

This comes after Congress' nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation released a report showing Trump paid $641,931 in federal income taxes in 2015, when he began his campaign for president.

He paid $750 in 2016 and 2017, nearly $1 million in 2018, $133,445 in 2019 and nothing in 2020.

According to the filings released Friday, more than 150 of Trump's business entities listed negative qualified business income in 2020. The IRS defines this as "the net amount of qualified items of income, gain, deduction and loss from any qualified trade or business."

In total for the 2020 tax year, Trump's qualified losses amounted to more than $58 million, combined with nearly $9 million in carryforward loss from previous years.

Trump Says Release Will 'Lead to Horrible Things'

Former President Donald Trump responded Friday to the public release of his tax returns by the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee.

In a statement released by his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said Democrats "should have never" released his tax returns and that the U.S. Supreme Court "should have never approved" the release of those tax records to the committee.

Trump then predicted the release will "lead to horrible things for so many people."

Below is Trump's statement in full:

"The Democrats should have never done it, the Supreme Court should have never approved it, and it's going to lead to horrible things for so many people. The great USA divide will now grow far worse. The Radical Left Democrats have weaponized everything, but remember, that is a dangerous two-way street! The 'Trump' tax returns once again show how proudly successful I have been and how I have been able to use depreciation and various other tax deductions as an incentive for creating thousands of jobs and magnificent structures and enterprises.

"Forbes: 'Trump's assets are worth an estimated $4.3 billion...The former president owns real stuff—mansions, golf courses, office buildings—that throw off real cash, even if his tax returns might suggest otherwise...The D.C. hotel opened in 2016 and, by 2018, Trump had already declared tax losses of $55.5 million there, according to the Times. Still, the property is worth something. One investor offered $175 million for it before the coronavirus decimated the hotel industry. The Trumps turned that offer down. Forbes now figures the hotel is worth closer to $168 million.'—Wrong, just sold the Hotel for almost $400 Million. Many of their other numbers are wrong too, but by even bigger proportions. But that's O.K., being wrong doesn't matter to the Fake News!"

House Committee GOP Leader Calls Release 'Dangerous'

Republicans warn that the release of former President Donald Trump's tax returns will "unleash a dangerous new political weapon" on the American people.

Texas Representative Kevin Brady, the GOP leader of the House Ways and Means Committee, called the release "unprecedented."

"With the publicly released transcript of Democrats' secret executive session, Americans now have confirmation that there was never a legislative purpose behind the public release of these confidential records and that the IRS was conducting audits prior to Democrats' request," he said in a statement.

He accuses Democrats on the committee of unleashing "a dangerous new political weapon" that overturns decades of privacy protections for average Americans.

Brady warns that future chairs of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee "will have nearly unlimited power" to target and make public the tax returns of private citizens, political enemies, business and labor leaders or Supreme Court justices.

"This is a regrettable stain on the Ways and Means Committee and Congress, and will make American politics even more divisive and disheartening," Brady said. "In the long run, Democrats will come to regret it."

Trump Says Records Show 'Tremendous Success'

A Trump fundraising committee slammed the release of the former president's tax returns Friday, telling supporters the Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee "unconstitutionally" released his tax returns.

The fundraising committee sent an email shortly after the returns were released, titled, "URGENT: THE DEMOCRATS UNCONSTITUTIONALLY RELEASED PRESIDENT TRUMP'S TAX RETURNS."

"Friend, This is UNPRECEDENTED," the body of the email reads. "You need to hear directly from ME on what I think about this. You URGENTLY need to watch my video message below," which featured Trump condemning the release of his tax returns.

The video, which the 2024 presidential candidate posted December 23 on his Truth Social account, began with Trump saying he spent his "entire life building a truly great company" and "achieved the American Dream beyond all imagination" before getting involved in politics.

"Now, in an outrageous abuse of power, the radical Democrat Congress illegally obtained and leaked my personal tax returns, which show only that I've had tremendous success," Trump said. "It's been an amazing period of time."

Trump called the decision to release his tax returns "unconstitutional" and a "deranged political witch hunt." The behavior of the Democrats who supported the release is "a shame on the U.S. Congress," he said.

Trump then called on the new Republican Congress to "immediately obtain" President Joe Biden's financial information.

"Biden is a corrupt politician who spent years selling out America all over the world," Trump said. "The American public deserves to know the truth."

House Committee Releases Trump's Tax Returns

Former President Donald Trump's tax returns have been released Friday after a years-long legal battle.

The Democrat-led House Ways and Means Committee released the final piece of six years' worth of Trump's tax returns.

This comes after a vote last week to make the returns public after the Committee reviewed the documents, handed over from the Treasury Department. The Supreme Court ruled last month that the returns could be turned over to Congress.

The returns from 2015 to 2020 span nearly 6,000 pages, including more than 2,700 pages of individual returns from Trump and his wife, Melania, and more than 3,000 pages in returns for Trump's businesses. They will also include redactions of personal sensitive information such as Social Security and bank account numbers.

Trump refused to publicly release his tax returns when he was a presidential candidate in 2016 and kept them secret through a lengthy legal battle when he was in the White House. The release of this information comes as Trump announced his 2024 presidential bid.

While Democrats have championed the release of Trump's tax returns as a pillar of transparency, Republicans argue that this move will set a dangerous precedent of government overreach and loss of privacy. The former president himself has called the release of his tax returns "illegal."

Trump's Tax Return Saga

Some details from Trump's tax return are already known, either through the Ways and Means Committee and Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) or leaks to the media.

The Ways and Means Committee revealed after voting to publicise Trump's financial records that the Internal Revenue Service did not audit the former president for the first two years he was in the White House.

The IRS only began to audit Trump's 2016 tax filings on April 3, 2019, after Ways and Means chair Rep. Richard Neal wrote to the agency to request Trump's tax returns as part of their inquiry.

In September 2020, some of Trump's tax returns were also leaked to The New York Times.

In a lengthy investigation, the newspaper revealed Trump had paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017 and paid no income tax in 10 of the past 15 years as he generally lost more money than he made.

Trump's Subpoena Celebration

The release of the former president's tax returns arrived as Trump achieved what he saw as a victory by avoiding testifying to the January 6 House Select Committee.

The panel investigating the Capitol riot voted to subpoena Trump in October, with Trump soon filing a lawsuit to get out of complying with it.

Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the Committee, wrote a letter to Trump's legal team confirming they are no longer seeking his testimony as their inquiry has ended, and the panel will be shutting down on January 3.

The vast probe into the events leading up to the Capitol riot ended with the panel referring Trump to the Department of Justice for prosecution and the release of a 845 report accusing him of being the head of a "multi-part conspiracy" to overturn the 2020 election results and the "central cause" of the January 6 riot.

Trump's Tax Returns To Be Released This Morning

Donald Trump's tax returns for the years between 2015 and 2020 are set to be released by a House Committee this morning, offering Americans a rare glimpse into the personal and business finances of the former president.

Trump broke with tradition by not producing his tax returns during his 2016 run for the White House. They have now been secured as part of an investigation by the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee.

It is expected that the tax returns will emerge at some point after 9 a.m. ET.

Whilst he has been posting on Truth Social over the past 24 hours, Trump has not directly addressed today's looming release. Instead, he has repeated his unfounded claims of electoral fraud, questioned global warming, and paid tribute to Pele.