Consider the last hour of your television viewing: One fact. 55 minutes of speculation.

[Stinky The Clown]

Seriously, I know everyone wanted that to be a big deal. It wasn't.

I know many people trust Rachel and want to hear it from her. I remember her stealth HRC bashing in the late part of the campaign, and her not so subtle trumpumping right along side all the other NBC/MSNBC crew.

This thing tonight could be fact/real excerpt from his return. But it could also be a trap. It isn't like that's never happened.

If this blows up, our side looks stupid.

I believe Johnston is a smart and honest guy and that the came to have those two pages exactly as he said he did. I do NOT trust the WH's statement; I think it was a smoke screen.

I would LOVE to be proved wrong.

I fear I am not.

[Tatiana]

1. It's a tough call. I see your point of view.

I spin this as a net positive for the follow reasons:

We're talking about DT's tax returns again.

Most people assumed someone from the IRS would have to leak the returns. We learned that it's almost impossible for that to happen. However, other entities likely have access to DT's prior years' filings and these people received strong encouragement to do their patriotic duty and send the tax returns to the appropriate person.

This is using the same strategy they applied to Hillary and her emails... hyping up a bunch of nothing. Will enough people get energized and pissed off enough to keep applying pressure to release the returns? Will Congress reach a point where they are forced to compel DT to turn the returns over? Will people start seeing DT and think "tax returns?"

I think Johnston is also smart and honest. I think he wanted to press the AMT, but Rachel opened with a totally different set-up that had nothing to do with what he came to talk about. Nevertheless, he offered a wealth of information.

The cons are obvious:

There were no schedules. There were no multiple tax returns. The returns were more than a decade old. The information doesn't give us any idea where DT's money comes from at all. Moreover, her lead-in didn't relate to the discovery of the 2-page 1040 at all.

I understand where you are coming from STC. I remember how awful she was during the Dem convention and there were several times when she certainly didn't paint Hillary in a fair light. But, she's got a platform and she is one of the view voices we have in this hellhole.

I think Johnston could be right and the returns could have been leaked by DT. I wouldn't put it past him.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. Thanks for a thoughtful and balanced reply