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Did Trump Leak Tax Returns to Discredit Media in Epic Chess Move?
Trump Conservative ^ | 03/15/2017 | Rufus Shinra

Posted on 03/15/2017 6:32:00 PM PDT by Rufus Shinra

After nearly two years since the announcement of his intent to run for office, President Donald Trump is still being viciously pursued by the mainstream media, who are convinced there is some "silver bullet" out there that will destroy his movement and bring their shattered world back to their version of normalcy.

However, one by one, every conspiracy theory that they have convinced themselves in true about Trump has blown up in the media's faces. The Russian hackers, Vladimir Putin connections and now the Trump tax returns have all proven to be at most ineffective for the anti-Trump media forces.

These media personalities are not as smart as they lead the public to believe, as the average person sees a media star and thinks to themselves, "Well, they must know what they're talking about because they've made it this far, so they're clearly very intelligent." That may have been true decades ago, but recently media careers have been made based on how progressive and liberal they appear to their constituents.

Take Rachel Maddow of MSNBC, who just yesterday frantically tweeted that she was in possession of Donald Trump's tax returns and would deliver a bombshell report on her show later in the evening.

maddow-trump-tweet

Maddow's explosive tweet sent the anti-Trump forces into a frenzy, thinking that they finally have their evidence that Trump worked with the Russians, paid no taxes, isn't as wealthy as he claimed, and these tax returns are going to prove all of it.

The MSNBC host literally rocked the liberal world, justifying their unwavering faith in the anti-Trump mantra of "Trump stole the election" and worked with the Russians to do so, thus legitimizing their claim that Hillary Clinton should have won. Social media was filled with phrases like "Could this finally bring Trump down" and "This is finally he evidence we've been waiting for to bring down Trump".

Maddow came on camera for her show and triumphantly stated, "What I have here Donald Trump's tax returns, we have his federal tax returns for one year, for 2005. I believe this is the only set of the president's federal taxes that reporters have ever gotten a hold of", she said as she waved around two whole pages of Trump's 1040 forms and appeared positively giddy like a kid on Christmas.

As we now know Maddow's report was an epic fail, since Trump's tax return from 2005 revealed he paid a higher percentage of his income towards federal taxes than his opponents, critics and even media organizations such as MSNBC.

trump-tax-return-compared-to-candidates

The report by Maddow was so bad that even fellow anti-Trump media outlets blasted her, criticizing her for "over hyping and under delivering". Extreme left news outlet Slate even published an article titled "Rachel Maddow Turned a Scoop on Donald Trump’s Taxes Into a Cynical, Self-Defeating Spectacle" along with CNBC publishing "Donald Trump Just Got a Nice Victory, Thanks, of all People, to Rachel Maddow", in which they openly admit Maddow actually did Trump a favor.

Considering that the outcome the "leak" of Trump's tax returns could only have resulted in a positive outcome for his image, the theory has started to spread that it was Trump himself who was behind the release.

Journalist David Cay Johnston was even willing to admit in a CNN interview that "it's a possibility" Trump was behind the leak.

"Yes," Pulitzer Prize-winner David Cay Johnston replied when CNN anchor Poppy Harlow asked him if he thought the two pages, which show Trump paid $38 million in taxes on more than $150 million in income that year, could have been sent by the President himself.

"Donald has a long history of leaking things about himself and doing it indirectly and directly," Johnston told Harlow and Chris Cuomo. "So it's a possibility."

I'd be willing to wager that Donald Trump, knowing his tax returns contain nothing controversial, refused to release them during his campaign to create a media frenzy that he knew would result in an all out witch hunt. Indeed, the media has pursued the tax return narrative endlessly, utterly convinced they would reveal direct payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin himself, with notations for bribes and secret campaign funding.

Donald Trump could have led the media to believe there is some sort of "smoking gun" evidence in his tax returns, and then eventually released (or purposefully leak them himself) the returns to the most rapid of Trump media critics, which would only prove to make fools of them when nothing of significance is found.

By Trump creating the scandal around his Trump returns, yet knowing there was no evidence of foul play within them, he could essentially hold a "Trump card" to be used against the media at an opportune time. Trump could at any moment organize a leak of a portion of his returns and then watch as the liberal media works themselves into a fury over it, but eventually is humiliated when nothing of significance in found.

Think about this, the reporter claims he just walked to his mailbox one morning and found a grand total of two pages of Trump's 1040 tax returns from 2005. If someone was willing to break the law and release Trump's personal tax returns, then why reveal only two pages that contain absolutely nothing of significance? You would think that if someone were to take the risk of leaking tax returns, then they would at least have leaked some that were more recent and actually contained something of significance.

Rachel Maddow's "big reveal" turned out to be a gigantic nothing burger with a side of fail fries, and the media's anti-Trump narrative is now significantly worse off than they were before the announcement.

Trump and his team may very well have been behind this entire tax return release, as evidenced by a preemptive White House press release throwing cold water on Maddow's announcement.

“You know you are desperate for ratings when you are willing to violate the law to push a story about two pages of tax returns from over a decade ago. Despite this substantial income figure and tax paid, it is totally illegal to steal and publish tax returns. The dishonest media can continue to make this part of their agenda, while the President will focus on his, which includes tax reform that will benefit all Americans.”
The theory that Trump planned this event is further indicated by his tweet mocking the reporter for finding his tax returns in his mailbox, asking if anyone really believe this happened.

trump-tweet-maddow-tax

An additional benefit to Maddow's failure is that her debacle will dominate the mainstream media's news cycle for the entire day, effectively distracting them from their usual attacks on Trump.

This certainly wouldn't be the first time Trump has controlled and manipulated the narrative, as during his campaign last year he tricked the media into thinking he was making a major announcement on Obama's birth certificate, but ended up using the breaking media coverage to present veterans speaking in his favor. Trump pitched his magnificent DC hotel, and then ushered in veteran after veteran to endorse him, explaining that war veterans are not the “deplorables” Hillary Clinton labeled his supporters. The media covered it, until they realized what Trump was doing, then they cut away.

Trump effectively "trolled" the media with this strategy and planning, which gave him free airtime on all major networks while they were convinced they had an explosive scandal on their hands. This strategy sounds eerily familiar to the situation that unfolded with Rachel Maddow and Trump's tax returns.

Unfortunately many anti-Trumpers will not be discouraged by Maddow's tax return blunder, and will remain convinced for the rest of their lives that Trump is in league with the Russians, which his tax returns must surely prove. Even if Trump released his tax returns for the past 20 years and nothing suspicious was found, the core anti-Trump groups would simply concoct another conspiracy theory in order push their narratives even harder. They will stop at nothing to feed their distorted beliefs that Donald Trump is a Russian operative, because these are the same people who religiously believe every headline coming out of CNN and The New York Times.

trump-3d-chess

So did President Trump purposefully leak his own tax returns in what could only be describes as a brilliant 3D chess move in order to discredit the hostile media? It doesn't seem all that unlikely, as who would go through the trouble to leak only 2 pages of Trump's returns that show absolutely nothing negative, and would only serve to further benefit the president's message while diminishing the media's attacks on him.


TOPICS: Politics
KEYWORDS: donaldtrump; rachelmaddow; trump; trumptaxes
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Honestly, Trump leaking a portion of his own tax returns wouldn't surprise, he has played the media plenty of times in the past. I've seen dozens of the media's stories on Trump backfiring on them over the past year, so either there's intelligent design behind it, or the craziest luck ever.
1 posted on 03/15/2017 6:32:00 PM PDT by Rufus Shinra
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To: Rufus Shinra

If he did, it was a brilliant move.


2 posted on 03/15/2017 6:34:29 PM PDT by MamaB (Heb : 13:2)
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To: Rufus Shinra

3 posted on 03/15/2017 6:38:48 PM PDT by doug from upland (Hey, traitor Democrats. I have a tree. I'm sure another FReeper has a rope.)
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To: MamaB

As a next step, I would leak a FAKE tax return, to blow up the remainder of any leftist media freaks who want to handle this issue.

let them scream for a couple days on national TV, and then release the real one to prove them wrong.

At that point, their credibility will be below zero


4 posted on 03/15/2017 6:39:53 PM PDT by PGR88 (The)
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To: Rufus Shinra

Some people make their own fortune. Maybe with the help of God and with good timing and being tapped into their surroundings and current events, trends and predictions

The media and every other enemy of Trump will continue to step into these awkward losing situations. It won’t stop


5 posted on 03/15/2017 6:39:59 PM PDT by stanne
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To: Rufus Shinra

Perhaps it isn’t luck. Perhaps it’s because Trump is an honest man and has nothing to fear. I can’t attest to either, but I can attest to the fact that an honest man/woman has nothing to fear.

Perhaps that is why Trump appears to be so fearless and the establishment is so enraged and threatened by him.

I can only imagine what we would find out about the establishment if the media went after career politicians and establishment types half as hard as they are digging into Trump.

Yet, the more they dig in the dirt, the more the roses bloom in Trump’s favor. Lord Almighty, how that must piss-off his enemies.

JMHO.


6 posted on 03/15/2017 6:40:50 PM PDT by Roger Kaputnik (Just because I'm paranoid doesn't prove that they aren't out to get me.)
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To: Rufus Shinra

At what time did she say it was from 2005 return? It was stupid if she gave him advance warning. She must have or he would not have referred to 2005 in his response before the show.


7 posted on 03/15/2017 6:41:04 PM PDT by doug from upland (Hey, traitor Democrats. I have a tree. I'm sure another FReeper has a rope.)
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To: All

No. Next.


8 posted on 03/15/2017 6:41:43 PM PDT by rockrr (Everything is different now...)
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To: Rufus Shinra

I’ve never figured out: HOW is 3-D chess played anyway? Did Roddenberry ever come up with rules for it?


9 posted on 03/15/2017 6:44:21 PM PDT by Ciaphas Cain (The choice to be stupid is not a conviction I am obligated to respect.)
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To: Rufus Shinra
Along those lines, Paul Manifort could have made those two pages up on his computer then slipped them to Johnston's mail box to see what MSNBC boob, who previously accused Trump of paying NO taxes for 18 years as Maddow had done, would take the bait.

Maddow got the highest ratings of her 9 year show scamming viewers ranting for over 20 minutes before pointing out she had nothing on Trump.

10 posted on 03/15/2017 6:44:41 PM PDT by sickoflibs (Don't call it Trumpcare!)
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To: doug from upland

3D chess with a 30A bra size amateur.

I bet when she got out of the chair after the a$$chewing she got today from her boss there was a pucker on the seat.


11 posted on 03/15/2017 6:44:49 PM PDT by Cowgirl of Justice
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To: Rufus Shinra

It does not matter, the fake news will say whatever they want to.


12 posted on 03/15/2017 6:44:54 PM PDT by right way right (May we remain sober over mere men, for God really is our one and only true hope.)
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To: Rufus Shinra

I’m pretty sure that there’s at least one good Photoshop artist in here that can draw Madcow with egg all over her face, with the splattered egg showing bits of Trump’s tax return and the $38 million and 25% tax rate showing through somewhere on her face.


13 posted on 03/15/2017 6:50:04 PM PDT by adorno (w)
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To: Rufus Shinra

What was exact time she said she had 2005 return? Had she not given the year, Trump would not have been able to pre-empt her with info about 2005. I have been searching but can’t find the time she said 2005.

If Trump leaked it, she really got suckered by giving the year ahead of time. It gave him the opportunity to make her look like a fool.


14 posted on 03/15/2017 6:50:57 PM PDT by doug from upland (Hey, traitor Democrats. I have a tree. I'm sure another FReeper has a rope.)
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To: Rufus Shinra

I hope so. Let game continue.


15 posted on 03/15/2017 6:57:30 PM PDT by ALASKA (Landslide.........)
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To: Rufus Shinra

To Kerry’s credit, he did attempt to put his yacht in a state with lower taxes, he just got caught.


16 posted on 03/15/2017 7:01:11 PM PDT by Vic S
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To: sickoflibs
Maddow got the highest ratings of her 9 year show scamming viewers ranting for over 20 minutes before pointing out she had nothing on Trump.

That gives me an idea, which I'm willing to give away for free, to some enterprising media person...

who should create a TV show, sort of like SNL, but different, where...

the news is all "fake" and with "breaking fake News" segments and "fake news discussion segments" and with discussions of what was purported to be real news in the regular media, but turned out to be as fake as the "news" on the CNN.

This could be done on a "throw-away hour", like 12 or 1 AM on FOX, and it it becomes a hit, it could then move on to a prime-time slot on a regular network, like the big FOX network.
17 posted on 03/15/2017 7:03:59 PM PDT by adorno (w)
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To: Rufus Shinra

Yeah, it’s going to be Trump’s fault for taking down Madcow.


18 posted on 03/15/2017 7:05:45 PM PDT by SkyDancer (Ambition Without Talent Is Sad, Talent Without Ambition Is Worse)
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To: Rufus Shinra
Ha...and "Mr Miller" as the Trump assistant


19 posted on 03/15/2017 7:08:40 PM PDT by spokeshave (In the Thatch Weave,..Trump's Wing Man is Truth)
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To: Rufus Shinra
Did Trump Leak Tax Returns to Discredit Media in Epic Chess Move?

Does a bear poop where Chuck Norris tells it to?

20 posted on 03/15/2017 7:10:35 PM PDT by TigersEye (We all have a stake in MAGA! We all need to contribute our efforts.)
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