Opinion: John McCain makes public some of Cindy McCain’s tax records
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It must be ‘Release Day’ at the John McCain campaign. First, a selected pool of reporters got a look at his medical files. And now the campaign has released Cindy McCain‘s 2006 tax returns, after saying for weeks that the McCains maintain separate finances and hers wouldn’t be made public.
And both releases came on the eve of a three-day weekend, when people are thinking more about barbecue than politics. (UPDATE: You can have look-see yourself at the material they released.)
Our colleague Maeve Reston reports from Scottsdale that Cindy McCain’s 2006 tax returns show an income that year of more than $6 million:
‘McCain, who heads Hensley & Co., had insisted she had no intention of releasing her tax returns because she wanted to protect her children’s privacy. Some have estimated her personal wealth at more than $100 million. She inherited ownership of what is said to be the nation’s third largest Anheuser-Busch distributor from her late father James Hensley. The company has sales estimated at $178 million, according to financial information company Dun & Bradstreet. ‘Cindy McCain had faced criticism and relentless news coverage for saying she would never release her tax returns. But a campaign aide said Friday she felt the issue was becoming an unnecessary distraction. The campaign released only the first two pages of her 2006 federal income tax returns Friday afternoon. More than $4.5 million in income was drawn from entities including rental real estate, partnerships and trusts. Aides said she has filed for an extension for 2007 and would decide later whether she would release those returns. ‘’As far as why today and the timing -- the campaign doesn’t discuss internal decision making,’ Cindy McCain spokeswoman Melissa Shuffield said.’
-- Scott Martelle
