Mitt Romney. (Photo by Whitney Curtis/Getty Images)
For the first time on Thursday, Mitt Romney addressed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's claim that Romney spent a decade not paying taxes, denying the charge and telling Fox News' Sean Hannity that it was time for the majority leader reveal the source of his information.
"Well, it's time for Harry to put up or shut up. Harry's going to have to describe who it is he spoke with because of course, that's totally and completely wrong," Romney told Hannity in a radio interview. "It's untrue, dishonest, and inaccurate. It's wrong. So I'm looking forward to have Harry reveal his sources and we'll probably find out it's the White House. Look, the Obama campaign is going to do everything in its power to try and talk about anything besides the president's record. Home prices, median American incomes, gasoline prices, 23 million underemployed or unemployed.
"They don't want to talk about that or his promises, cutting the deficit in half, cutting the medical insurance rates that people pay," Romney added. "These are all the things he promised. He can't talk about that, so they try and put this kind of baloney out there, and the people could smell it for what it is, and it's not a pretty smell."
Democrats were quick to wonder why Romney would even engage Reid on the matter, adding another chapter to this bizarre squabble. But that's not particularly fair to the presumptive Republican nominee, who was asked a direct question about the Reid's insistence that an anonymous investor in Bain Capital told him about Romney's zero tax bill.
That said, the put-up-or-shut-up line works both ways. Romney could make the whole issue go away (and make Reid look foolish in the process) by simply releasing more tax returns. The campaign showed no willingness to do that, especially under the terms that Reid's established. But that seems likely to just invite even more speculation.
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