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Harry Reid Doubles Down On Romney Tax Charge

Reid Doubles Down On Romney Tax Charge
Luke Johnson
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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., speaks to reporters just after Senate Democrats passed their version of a yearlong tax cut extension bill by a near party-line 51-48 vote, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 25, 2012. At right is Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) didn't back down Wednesday from his accusation, made in an interview with The Huffington Post, that he heard that Mitt Romney didn't pay taxes for a decade.

"I am not basing this on some figment of my imagination," he told Nevada reporters on a conference call, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I have had a number of people tell me that." He declined to name his source.

"I don't think the burden should be on me," he said. "The burden should be on him. He's the one I've alleged has not paid any taxes. Why didn't he release his tax returns?"

Reid originally made the charge in an little noticed speech on the Senate floor in mid-July, but when he repeated it in a recent interview with HuffPost, it provoked a firestorm of controversy

He said a person who invested with Bain Capital called his office. "Harry, he didn't pay any taxes for 10 years," Reid said the unnamed investor told him.

"He didn't pay taxes for 10 years! Now, do I know that that's true? Well, I'm not certain," he said. "But obviously he can't release those tax returns. How would it look?"

"You guys have said his wealth is $250 million," he said. "Not a chance in the world. It's a lot more than that. I mean, you do pretty well if you don't pay taxes for 10 years when you're making millions and millions of dollars."

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Before You Go

Republicans To Mittens: Release The Returns
Ron Paul(01 of08)
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"Politically, I think that would help him," Paul said in a interview with Politico. "In the scheme of things politically, you know, it looks like releasing tax returns is what the people want." (credit:AP)
Richard Lugar(02 of08)
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"I have no idea on why he has restricted the number to this point," Lugar said. (credit:AP)
George Will(03 of08)
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"I don't know why... he didn't get all of this out and tidy up some of his offshore accounts and all the rest," Will said on ABC's "This Week." "He's done nothing illegal, nothing unseemly, nothing improper, but lots that's impolitic." (credit:Getty)
Bill Kristol(04 of08)
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"He should release the tax returns tomorrow. It's crazy," Kristol said on "Fox News Sunday." "You gotta release six, eight, 10 years of back tax returns. Take the hit for a day or two." (credit:<a target="_blank" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bill_Kristol_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="MediaWiki:" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5c9a7c3ae4b012c1566352c5" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bill_Kristol_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="4" data-vars-position-in-unit="7">MediaWiki:</a><a target="_blank" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Gage" role="link" class=" js-entry-link cet-external-link" data-vars-item-name="Gage" data-vars-item-type="text" data-vars-unit-name="5c9a7c3ae4b012c1566352c5" data-vars-unit-type="buzz_body" data-vars-target-content-id="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Gage" data-vars-target-content-type="url" data-vars-type="web_external_link" data-vars-subunit-name="before_you_go_slideshow" data-vars-subunit-type="component" data-vars-position-in-subunit="5" data-vars-position-in-unit="8">Gage</a>)
Robert Bentley(05 of08)
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"I just believe in total transparency," Bentley told ABC News. "In fact, I was asked today that question -- do you think that Governor Romney should release his tax returns? And I said I do. I said, I release my tax returns. I may be the only public official in Alabama that does, but I release mine every year and I just believe that people should release their tax returns. And if you get them out and just get past that, it just makes it so much easier." (credit:AP)
Haley Barbour(06 of08)
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When asked on "The Situation Room" if Romney should release more returns, Barbour said, "I would. But should it be an issue in the campaign? I don't think it amounts to diddly." (credit:AP)
Michael Steele(07 of08)
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"If there's nothing there, there's no 'there' there, don't create a there,'" Steele said on MSNBC. (credit:Getty)
David Frum(08 of08)
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"Tax returns the next problem. Releasing returns under pressure: more weakness, more pain," Frum tweeted. (credit:Getty)
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