No major politician has had a bigger change in his financial status after the last election than Bernie Sanders. And both in 2016 and now, Bernie has been reluctant to release his taxes, and responded to calls to do so with stalling tactics.

He’s played games with financial disclosures before.

Here’s a flashback.

But when federal law required Sanders to reveal, by mid-May, current details of his personal finances, his campaign lawyer asked the Federal Election Commission for a 45-day extension.

Request granted.

On June 30, Sanders’ campaign requested a second 45-day extension, saying the senator had “good cause” to delay because of his “current campaign schedule and officeholder duties.”

Again, regulators approved Sanders’ punt.

Now that Sanders’ second extension has expired, spokesman Michael Briggs confirmed to the Center for Public Integrity that the senator won’t file a presidential campaign personal financial disclosure after all.

Tracking TV ads in the 2016 presidential race

Who is on the air, and where?

“We were told that since the senator no longer is a candidate there was no requirement to file,” Briggs said.

Next year, in 2017, he once again dodged a deadline.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has missed the deadline to file his annual financial disclosures with the Senate, a move that continues to delay a complete examination of how his 2016 presidential bid affected his personal wealth.

Sanders’s Senate office missed the annual deadline to file his personal financial disclosure on Monday, instead requesting and receiving a 20-day extension. The Vermont news blog VTDigger first reported the extension.

Now he’s hiding behind ‘starving children’.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders sidestepped questions Thursday about when he will release his tax returns, with the Vermont independent hinting he could fulfill his six-week old pledge to make public 10 years of tax returns on April 15 — Tax Day.

Yet, as quickly as Sanders suggested that, he appeared to backtrack and wouldn’t commit that he would release them then.
“Do you know what April 15th is? It’s Tax Day,” Sanders told CNN on Capitol Hill when asked if there was an issue to releasing his taxes. “So, I think we want to make sure we have all of them together and as I said, they will be released soon.”

When asked if that meant he would not necessarily release his tax returns on April 15, Sanders responded, “That’s it. Thank you very much.”

An aide then stepped in front of CNN and said, “he answered your question” and referred CNN to follow up with a Sanders’ spokesperson.

That exchange followed a news conference earlier Thursday on the House passing a Yemen War Powers Resolution earlier. When asked about the tax returns at that news conference, Sanders declined to answer.

“Today let’s worry about the starving children in Yemen,” he said, before departing the room.

Pathetic and despicable. But those are two of Bernie’s middle names.

Why does Bernie Sanders keep playing these games? Considering his wife’s history, and his own with finances, behind all the smoke may be a fire. The Sanders Institute was recently shut down as Bernie prepared to run for office. The FBI chose not to pursue his wife over alleged fraud involving Burlington College. But there may be things still lurking in the paper underbrush.

Article posted with permission from Daniel Greenfield