Trump campaign senior adviser Boris Epshteyn questioned the legality of the NY Times using leaked tax documents in their blockbuster report and told MSNBC that reporters "face five years of jail time for using someone's tax documents without their approval."
This is a new tactic for Trump surrogate. Without admitting that the NY Times story is valid, they are calling their actions criminal.
Epshteyn was questioned many times by MSNBC's Kristen Welker over Trump's refusal to release his tax returns.
Boris kept claiming, as most Trump surrogates have, that Trump's financial disclosure forms tell a much clearer story about Trump's finances.
But that is not true.
Boris then tried the familiar Trump Team Trick of flipping the interview to attacks on the Clinton campaign, but Welker pushed on and said, "If he thinks the system is unfair, the question is, what's he going to do to fix it, if in fact, elected, going to eliminate the deductions that allowed him to not pay for two decades?
Boris wasn't happy and responded, "That's a stretch. You're making an accusation and a statement that there is no back-up and fact for."
Welker responded, "I want to be clear. You're disputing the [NY Times] story?
Boris replied, "Those are not authenticated documents and if they are authentic, then the New York Times reporters face jail time, five years of jail time for using someone's tax documents without their approval."
Acquiring information from all types of whistle blowers is a mainstay of investigative reporting, Boris.
Besides, Boris, you're between a rock and a hard place, and you know it. You can't go after the Times if you don't authenticate the tax returns, and you can't authenticate the tax returns because they show your candidate to be a tax-avoiding loser.
Will the Trump campaign try to prosecute the NY Times for doing their job and investigating presidential candidates? Will they authenticate the leaked tax returns in order to do that?
The New York Times lawyers have likely been laughing all morning at you, not with you, Boris. Give up already.