What else hasn’t Mitt Romney disclosed?

By Melanie Sloan

Elections, Federal Agencies, Department of Justice, Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, FOIA, Melanie Sloan, Newt Gingrich , Political Candidates, Mitt Romney

After learning the personal financial disclosure form (PFD) Mitt Romney filed in August 2011 failed to include at least 23 assets included on his 2010 tax return, CREW asked the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) to refer the matter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for prosecution. As a matter of policy, OGE, which has no enforcement authority, refers potential criminal violations involving disclosure forms to DOJ for investigation. Knowingly and willfully making misstatements on a PFD can be a criminal violation punishable by up to 5 years in jail. Given how reluctant Mr. Romney has been to release his returns, it is reasonable to wonder if he was concerned about potential discrepancies between the 2010 return and his PFD.

This also leads me to wonder whether there also might be discrepancies between Mr. Romney’s 2006 return and the PFD he filed in 2007 – when he last ran for president. Mr. Romney never released his 2006 return so no one ever had a chance to compare the two before.

Mr. Romney has embraced the notion of transparency for Mr. Gingrich, calling on the former speaker to push for release of the file from the ethics inquiry that resulted in a $300,000 fine as well as his consulting agreement with Freddie Mac.

We agree with Mr. Romney; the public should have the chance to review those materials. In fact, earlier this week, we sent Freedom of Information Act requests to DOJ and the IRS asking for the ethics file. But what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Now it is Mr. Romney’s turn to reveal his tax returns and let the American people judge whether he has behaved honestly and ethically.