Former President Donald Trump — who was recently found guilty on 34 felony counts for falsifying business documents to cover up payments made to a porn star to influence the 2016 presidential election, and who controversially refused to release his tax returns after being elected POTUS despite promising he would after an audit was resolved — has reportedly asked eight potential Republican VP candidates to provide their financial records.
Note: In December 2022, the House Ways and Means Committee made public six years of Trump’s tax returns, “which showed he paid relatively little in federal taxes in the years before and during his presidency.”
Trump has requested financial and other documents from 8 potential VP picks as he formalizes his vetting. The contenders, in no particular order:
—J.D. Vance
—Doug Burgum
—Marco Rubio
—Tim Scott
—Ben Carson
—Elise Stefanik
—Byron Donalds
—Tom Cotton
https://t.co/Sv0P2FdgP7
— Axios (@axios) June 6, 2024
Axios reported the eight contenders, in no particular order, are U.S. Senators J.D. Vance (OH), 39, Marco Rubio (FL), 53, Tim Scott (SC), 58, Tom Cotton (AR), 47, Reps. Elise Stefanik (NY), 39, Byron Donalds (FL), 45, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, 67, and former presidential candidate and former HUD Secretary under Trump, Ben Carson, 72. Of those on the shortlist, Burgum is reportedly a billionaire via his software industry success, and Vance and Carson are multimillionaires with complex financial histories involving multiple industries..
Note: Stefanik is the only female contender and also the youngest at 39.
Trump is expected to be announced the GOP nominee in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the Republican National Convention which begins July 15, four days before Judge Juan Merchan in New York is due to announce Trump’s sentence on July 11.