Rachel Maddow gets the scoop

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  • Newman
    Behind the Iron Curtain
    • Friday, November 1, 2013
    • 25814
    #1

    Rachel Maddow gets the scoop

    In 2005 Donald Trump made a lot of money and paid taxes on it. NBC notices:

    Op-Ed: Donald Trump just got a nice victory, thanks, of all people, to Rachel Maddow
    On her Tuesday show, Rachel Maddow teased a scoop: She had Donald Trump's 2005 tax returns. It was the first time his federal returns would be released.

    Small digression: MSNBC's Maddow didn't have them. Investigative reporter David Cay Johnston got them, and went on her show to talk about it.

    Anyway, when she finally revealed what was in the taxes, it was not a huge deal. Trump earned about $150 million in income in 2005, and paid $38 million in taxes, thanks to the alternative minimum tax, which he wants to kill.

    This gives Trump an effective tax rate of about 24 percent, which Johnston pointed out was roughly equal to what he and his wife, who are an upper middle class couple, pay.

    And, sure, for a billionaire, you can argue that he should pay more in taxes. But, $38 million is a big number. As is $150 million in income.

    There was speculation, fueled by Trump himself, that he wasn't paying anything in taxes. That led to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton attacking him on that front....
    Meanwhile, I saw a good bit of outrage that the IRS would leak a tax return, but on Fox & Friends one of the hosts said the leaked 1040s said "client copy." Hmm...
    • "I'm a hell of a lot smarter than most of you guys." — Joe Biden, at Jesse Jackson's funeral, March 2026.​
    • "That's all I do in my life. I make deals. I'm really good at it." — President Donald Trump, Oct. 13, 2025.
    • “Inside every progressive is a totalitarian screaming to get out,” — David Horowitz.
    • "We [Democrats] are all willing to work with anyone who is serious about doing the work of censoring the American people, and advancing progress."​ — Ayanna Pressley, explaining progressives.
    • ​​"Florida is where Woke goes to die." — Ron DeSantis.
    • "No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence." — Nancy Pelosi, explaining Lawfare.
    • “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”​— Ben Franklin, who got it right.
    • "The way I see it, there's always, c'mon, there's always money. It's there." — Elizabeth Warren, explaining socialism.
    • "The interesting thing about the Green New Deal is it wasn't originally a climate thing at all.... We really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing." — Saikat Chakrabarti, then AOC's Chief of Staff.
    Tags: None
    • Newman
      Behind the Iron Curtain
      • Friday, November 1, 2013
      • 25814
      #2
      Originally posted by Newman View Post
      Meanwhile, I saw a good bit of outrage that the IRS would leak a tax return, but on Fox & Friends one of the hosts said the leaked 1040s said "client copy." Hmm...
      Before jumping to conclusions, one should acknowledge that anyone could stamp "client copy" on a document.
      • "I'm a hell of a lot smarter than most of you guys." — Joe Biden, at Jesse Jackson's funeral, March 2026.​
      • "That's all I do in my life. I make deals. I'm really good at it." — President Donald Trump, Oct. 13, 2025.
      • “Inside every progressive is a totalitarian screaming to get out,” — David Horowitz.
      • "We [Democrats] are all willing to work with anyone who is serious about doing the work of censoring the American people, and advancing progress."​ — Ayanna Pressley, explaining progressives.
      • ​​"Florida is where Woke goes to die." — Ron DeSantis.
      • "No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence." — Nancy Pelosi, explaining Lawfare.
      • “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”​— Ben Franklin, who got it right.
      • "The way I see it, there's always, c'mon, there's always money. It's there." — Elizabeth Warren, explaining socialism.
      • "The interesting thing about the Green New Deal is it wasn't originally a climate thing at all.... We really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing." — Saikat Chakrabarti, then AOC's Chief of Staff.

        Comment

        • RobJohnson
          Senior Member
          • Tuesday, April 22, 2014
          • 1393
          #3
          ">Embedded Tweet


          ">Embedded Tweet

            Comment

          • RobJohnson
            Senior Member
            • Tuesday, April 22, 2014
            • 1393
            #4
            ">Embedded Tweet






              Comment

              • Newman
                Behind the Iron Curtain
                • Friday, November 1, 2013
                • 25814
                #5
                Maddow's "Al Capone's vault" moment. NBC has some egg on its face also.

                Of course, they could start covering some actual news, such as :

                CEO confidence spikes higher in biggest move since escaping recession



                Meanwhile, NBC News is investigating the leak:

                Who Is Leaking Donald Trump’s Tax Returns?

                Another mystery for the sleuths at NBC News.
                • "I'm a hell of a lot smarter than most of you guys." — Joe Biden, at Jesse Jackson's funeral, March 2026.​
                • "That's all I do in my life. I make deals. I'm really good at it." — President Donald Trump, Oct. 13, 2025.
                • “Inside every progressive is a totalitarian screaming to get out,” — David Horowitz.
                • "We [Democrats] are all willing to work with anyone who is serious about doing the work of censoring the American people, and advancing progress."​ — Ayanna Pressley, explaining progressives.
                • ​​"Florida is where Woke goes to die." — Ron DeSantis.
                • "No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence." — Nancy Pelosi, explaining Lawfare.
                • “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”​— Ben Franklin, who got it right.
                • "The way I see it, there's always, c'mon, there's always money. It's there." — Elizabeth Warren, explaining socialism.
                • "The interesting thing about the Green New Deal is it wasn't originally a climate thing at all.... We really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing." — Saikat Chakrabarti, then AOC's Chief of Staff.

                  Comment

                  • RobJohnson
                    Senior Member
                    • Tuesday, April 22, 2014
                    • 1393
                    #6
                    Originally posted by Newman View Post
                    Meanwhile, NBC News is investigating the leak:

                    Who Is Leaking Donald Trump’s Tax Returns?

                    Another mystery for the sleuths at NBC News.

                      Comment

                      • RobJohnson
                        Senior Member
                        • Tuesday, April 22, 2014
                        • 1393
                        #7

                          Comment

                          • Newman
                            Behind the Iron Curtain
                            • Friday, November 1, 2013
                            • 25814
                            #8
                            Like a formulaic sit-com episode, we quickly go into the next scene:

                            Backup theory: Trump leaked his own tax returns?

                            Ed Morrissey:
                            It didn’t take long for MSNBC and Rachel Maddow to go from hero to goat last night. Now some want to move them from goat to … victim? After spending all day hyping an exclusive on Donald Trump’s 2005 tax returns but delivering a prime-time “total nothingburger,” as Chris Cillizza put it at the Washington Post, some are speculating that Trump set up Maddow by leaking the tax returns himself
                            Morrissey concedes it's possible, like any fact-free speculation (see Michael Moore's Tweet at the link) and goes on to say even so,
                            It doesn’t prove or even substantiate the allegation that Trump leaked this himself, though, and no one thought to suggest this before Maddow and MSNBC performed this epic face plant.

                            Of course, that’s precisely why media outlets shouldn’t rush everything that they get in the mail to print — or onto prime-time TV. First off, a journalist should check to make sure anonymously supplied documents are legitimate, let alone newsworthy, and that they’re not being manipulated into false or misleading reporting. It’s one thing to keep your sources anonymous to the public, when the reporter knows the sources and finds them reliable and have good reason to remain anonymous. It’s quite another to rely on single sources who won’t identify themselves to the reporter, and on top of that offer no provenance for the documents they supply. Nameless mail drops should be the start of an investigation, not the whole report.

                            In this case, that rush to publicize is doubly mystifying, because the clear content of the tax returns does nothing but help Trump. Democrats accused Trump of paying no taxes for almost 20 years, and that his business success was all a sham. Yet here in the middle of that period is proof that Trump paid a 25% tax rate on an reported annual 2005 income of $150 million — nifty proof that both narratives are false. Maddow and Johnston rushed this to air as if it were the Pentagon Papers, leading one to question whether they bothered to read the tax returns at all. If they did, did either of them understand what they were reading, and the context of paying an income rate rather than a capital-gains rate? From what transpired last night, the answer seems to be a yuuuuuuge No.
                            He then closes by saying Rivera's "Al Capone's Vault" embarassment may have been eclipsed by another "prime time faceplant, an apt phrase if ever there was one.
                            Finally, Geraldo Rivera can rest easy. Three decades after opening up Al Capone’s “vault” for two prime-time hours and finding nothing more than a few empty bottles of booze, another prime-time faceplant may have surpassed that epic embarrassment. Whether Trump leaked those documents himself or not, the only people to blame for that are Maddow, Johnston, and MSNBC.

                            Update: CNN’s also pursuing the Trump-fakes-out-reporters storyline this morning with Johnston. Does anyone realize this isn’t a good look for the media?
                            In Morrissey's closing "update" he links to this
                            , which features the leaked-to Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter no one's ever heard of, Johnston, sliding seamlessly into this new theory, as he and the CNN hosts search earnestly for scandal, somewhere, anywhere. ("Was there anything in there, David, that went to charitable giving....")

                            What Goobers.
                            • "I'm a hell of a lot smarter than most of you guys." — Joe Biden, at Jesse Jackson's funeral, March 2026.​
                            • "That's all I do in my life. I make deals. I'm really good at it." — President Donald Trump, Oct. 13, 2025.
                            • “Inside every progressive is a totalitarian screaming to get out,” — David Horowitz.
                            • "We [Democrats] are all willing to work with anyone who is serious about doing the work of censoring the American people, and advancing progress."​ — Ayanna Pressley, explaining progressives.
                            • ​​"Florida is where Woke goes to die." — Ron DeSantis.
                            • "No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence." — Nancy Pelosi, explaining Lawfare.
                            • “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”​— Ben Franklin, who got it right.
                            • "The way I see it, there's always, c'mon, there's always money. It's there." — Elizabeth Warren, explaining socialism.
                            • "The interesting thing about the Green New Deal is it wasn't originally a climate thing at all.... We really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing." — Saikat Chakrabarti, then AOC's Chief of Staff.

                              Comment

                              • Norm dePlume
                                Err foil
                                • Tuesday, October 22, 2013
                                • 14904
                                #9
                                So you've reached a place where it's a big joke to think that the president of the United States would make his tax returns public.
                                Enjoy.

                                  Comment

                                  • Billy Jingo
                                    I shave with Occam's Razor
                                    • Wednesday, October 2, 2013
                                    • 18663
                                    #10
                                    Originally posted by Norm dePlume View Post
                                    So you've reached a place where it's a big joke to think that the president of the United States would make his tax returns public.
                                    Why should he?

                                    Trump has revealed who we are. He isn't the naked emperor parading around for accolades; the nation is.
                                    “One day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.”

                                    ~ Omar El Akkad
                                    ​

                                      Comment

                                      • scott
                                        Go-to Guru
                                        • Tuesday, October 1, 2013
                                        • 15799
                                        #11
                                        Originally posted by Norm dePlume View Post
                                        So you've reached a place where it's a big joke to think that the president of the United States would make his tax returns public.
                                        God butthurt looks funny on you.

                                        It's a big fucking joke because you leftist idiots (redundant) have come up short in your attacks again.
                                        "Faith is nothing but a firm assent of the mind : which, if it be regulated, as is our duty, cannot be afforded to anything but upon good reason, and so cannot be opposite to it."
                                        -John Locke

                                        "It's all been melded together into one giant, authoritarian, leftist scream."
                                        -Newman

                                        "Grievance groups are playing King of the Hill."
                                        -Newman

                                          Comment

                                          • Norm dePlume
                                            Err foil
                                            • Tuesday, October 22, 2013
                                            • 14904
                                            #12
                                            Originally posted by scott View Post
                                            God butthurt looks funny on you.

                                            It's a big fucking joke because you leftist idiots (redundant) have come up short in your attacks again.
                                            Did Maddow claim this was going to destroy Trump? She said she would reveal some of his tax returns; she revealed some of his tax returns; the White House says they are authentic; you guys point and laugh. You are normalizing Trump's abnormal behavior (not releasing tax returns) and ridiculizing Maddow's normal behavior (reporting on leaked documents of public figures). And then, of course, salting it with your own oh-so-clever personal attacks.
                                            Enjoy.

                                              Comment

                                              • scott
                                                Go-to Guru
                                                • Tuesday, October 1, 2013
                                                • 15799
                                                #13
                                                Originally posted by Norm dePlume View Post
                                                Did Maddow claim this was going to destroy Trump? She said she would reveal some of his tax returns; she revealed some of his tax returns; the White House says they are authentic; you guys point and laugh. You are normalizing Trump's abnormal behavior (not releasing tax returns) and ridiculizing Maddow's normal behavior (reporting on leaked documents of public figures). And then, of course, salting it with your own oh-so-clever personal attacks.
                                                You and Maddow are the reason Trump won.
                                                "Faith is nothing but a firm assent of the mind : which, if it be regulated, as is our duty, cannot be afforded to anything but upon good reason, and so cannot be opposite to it."
                                                -John Locke

                                                "It's all been melded together into one giant, authoritarian, leftist scream."
                                                -Newman

                                                "Grievance groups are playing King of the Hill."
                                                -Newman

                                                  Comment

                                                  • Newman
                                                    Behind the Iron Curtain
                                                    • Friday, November 1, 2013
                                                    • 25814
                                                    #14
                                                    Originally posted by Norm dePlume View Post
                                                    Did Maddow claim this was going to destroy Trump? She said she would reveal some of his tax returns; she revealed some of his tax returns; the White House says they are authentic; you guys point and laugh. You are normalizing Trump's abnormal behavior (not releasing tax returns) and ridiculizing Maddow's normal behavior (reporting on leaked documents of public figures). And then, of course, salting it with your own oh-so-clever personal attacks.
                                                    I listened/watched about ten minutes of her soliloquy. Calling it "reporting" is a stretch even for you, Norm. It's just free-form conspiracy fantasy.

                                                    So I'm trying to understand, if you're serious, how this faceplant is supposed to embarrass critics of MSNBC and Maddow, and even if I accept your a priori assumptions that Maddow is good, Trump is bad, it makes no sense. Even "good" guys get embarrassed now and again. Even liberals, if they had the capacity.

                                                    Aha! I think that's it. It's much like the missing funny bone and the irony gene, well established aspects of the faith.
                                                    • "I'm a hell of a lot smarter than most of you guys." — Joe Biden, at Jesse Jackson's funeral, March 2026.​
                                                    • "That's all I do in my life. I make deals. I'm really good at it." — President Donald Trump, Oct. 13, 2025.
                                                    • “Inside every progressive is a totalitarian screaming to get out,” — David Horowitz.
                                                    • "We [Democrats] are all willing to work with anyone who is serious about doing the work of censoring the American people, and advancing progress."​ — Ayanna Pressley, explaining progressives.
                                                    • ​​"Florida is where Woke goes to die." — Ron DeSantis.
                                                    • "No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence." — Nancy Pelosi, explaining Lawfare.
                                                    • “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”​— Ben Franklin, who got it right.
                                                    • "The way I see it, there's always, c'mon, there's always money. It's there." — Elizabeth Warren, explaining socialism.
                                                    • "The interesting thing about the Green New Deal is it wasn't originally a climate thing at all.... We really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing." — Saikat Chakrabarti, then AOC's Chief of Staff.

                                                      Comment

                                                      • Norm dePlume
                                                        Err foil
                                                        • Tuesday, October 22, 2013
                                                        • 14904
                                                        #15
                                                        Originally posted by Newman View Post
                                                        I listened/watched about ten minutes of her soliloquy. Calling it "reporting" is a stretch even for you, Norm. It's just free-form conspiracy fantasy.

                                                        So I'm trying to understand, if you're serious, how this faceplant is supposed to embarrass critics of MSNBC and Maddow, and even if I accept your a priori assumptions that Maddow is good, Trump is bad, it makes no sense. Even "good" guys get embarrassed now and again. Even liberals, if they had the capacity.

                                                        Aha! I think that's it. It's much like the missing funny bone and the irony gene, well established aspects of the faith.
                                                        Just to clarify that which was already clear, I did not declare or assume anyone "good" or "bad." I spoke in terms of normal and abnormal. Presidents of the United States releasing their tax returns is normal ever since Nixon. Presidents of the United States not releasing their tax returns is abnormal. Good or bad, you can decide for yourself (I have a hunch how you'll go on that).

                                                        Newspeople reporting on leaked documents of public figures is normal. I didn't watch her show, and I don't know how she presented it. I do know that the top line information from the tax returns was echoed on virtually every other news outlet. And when one news outlet is the first to reveal something and every other news outlet repeats that revelation, that is a scoop by the definition of scoop.

                                                        So again, reporting a tax return that the president has kept hidden is a normal thing. The president keeping it hidden is not a normal thing.
                                                        Enjoy.

                                                          Comment

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