Front-Runners Refuse Release of Tax Returns

May 15, 2007 — -- Call them the concealers.

Five of the six presidential front-runners -- Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and John McCain, R-Ariz., former Republican Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, former Democratic Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani -- are as yet refusing to release their tax returns.

"It's very unusual," said Mary Boyle of the good government group Common Cause. "For the past almost 35 years, it has been tradition most certainly in the White House as well as almost every presidential candidate to disclose their tax returns -- and for some reason we're not seeing it this year."

Obama: Releasing Returns a Matter of 'Good Government'

Of the "Big Six" front-runners, only Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has released his tax returns.

"I think it's critical that people know who their candidates are, what our sources of income are, whether we have any potential conflicts," Obama told ABC News Monday afternoon just before a campaign rally in Trenton, N.J. "It's just a matter of transparency, accountability and good government. It is something I've done throughout my political career."

Obama says he hasn't always enjoyed the process of the media poring over his personal finances.

"Occasionally newspapers have written about it and you know obviously it's not always something you want to do, but I think it is important to do if you want to be accountable to the voters," he said.

All the other campaigns pointed ABC News to the forms they're filling out for the Federal Election Commission and, for some of them, the U.S. Senate, which are due today. But these documents provide only general estimates of net worth.

"They are quite vague," Boyle said. "It's not a really detailed financial picture that you get."

The Candidates as Consultants

And beyond the undisclosed tax returns lie a treasure trove of undisclosed information.

Running for president four years ago, Edwards released his IRS returns, but he hasn't yet done so this year. What changed?

Since his last presidential campaign Edwards has consulted for the controversial hedge fund Fortress Holdings. Fortress has been criticized for incorporating its hedge funds in the Cayman Islands, a move that allows partners and foreign investors to avoid U.S. taxes, as well as for its role in the high-risk mortgage sector.

Edwards will not say how much Fortress paid him, and in general avoids specifics about what he did for the company.

"Basically, I was just giving them general advice about what was happening globally and what was happening here in the United States," Edwards told George Stephanopoulos on ABC News' "This Week."

Giuliani also avoids discussing the millions he's made with his consulting and lobbying firms. One client was Purdue Pharmaceuticals, whose executives just admitted lying about the addictiveness of their drug OxyContin. What did he do for the company? Giuliani will not say, and he will not name other clients

Worth of the Clinton Factor

The question for Clinton has to do with her husband. Former President Clinton has made tens of millions in speaking fees — more than half of which are from other countries. Those are listed in her Senate disclosure report, but remaining secret are donations to his charity the William J. Clinton Foundation, contributions to the Clinton library and his salary as an adviser to the Yucaipa investment firm.

"These candidates are on what amounts to the ultimate job interview for the ultimate job," Doyle said, "and they are being asked to be the elected leader for 300 million Americans. Americans deserve to know this information."

"The bottom line here is if you want to be president of the United States, you need to be prepared to treat your life as an open book for the voters so they can make their own judgments about whether any of this information is relevant to their choice in voting," said Fred Wertheimer of Democracy 21.