October 4, 2016
By Jesse Coleman
Since last week's presidential debate, (click here)) we’ve been hearing quite a bit about Donald Trump’s tax returns (or
lack thereof). While the conversation has revolved around why Trump has
chosen not to release his returns — as all presidential candidates have
since 1980 — we do know some things about what those returns would
reveal should he choose to make them public.
In particular, we already know quite a
bit about Trump’s connections to the fossil fuel industry and to the
Dakota Access Pipeline.
Trump has deep financial and
personnel ties to the pipeline, which would transport nearly 500,000
barrels of fracked oil per day from North Dakota to Illinois. The
pipeline threatens the water supply and sacred lands of the Standing Rock Sioux, who have joined with dozens of tribes and other groups to stop the project.
While much of Trump’s finances remain a mystery, he did have to file a financial disclosure form
when he declared his candidacy for president (despite his claims, this
is not the same and does not provide the same level of transparency as a
tax return). This disclosure form shows significant investments in the
fossil fuel industry, and two of the fossil fuel companies Trump holds
stock in are directly funding the Dakota Access Pipeline.
This year, Trump disclosed between
$1,500 and $50,000 in investments in the primary builder of the
pipeline, Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners. This figure is down from
the $500,000 to $1 million in investments he disclosed in 2015....
