Subject: Trump's tax return tap dance
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Date: Thu, 12 May 2016 01:43:49 +0000
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CNN Politics: Nightcap

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May 11, 2016

by Eric Bradner

Welcome to the CNN Politics Nightcap and good Wednesday night from Washington. We're hours from the Donald Trump-Paul Ryan meeting, and much of the political world is focused on Trump's continuing refusal to release his tax returns. Harry Reid confronted a member of his own party. And 2016's polling wars began. Your bartender is Eric Bradner. The tip jar: [email-masked].

Trump keeps resisting calls to release his tax returns

Donald Trump said in February 2015 that he'd release his tax returns. Now that he's the presumptive Republican nominee, that's not happening. He told The Associated Press in an interview that "there's nothing to learn from them," and held off later Wednesday as Mitt Romney joined the chorus of critics demanding his returns.

The AP reported that Trump wouldn't release his returns until after the election. But Trump tweeted that he'd told the wire service "my taxes are under routine audit and I would release my tax returns when audit is complete, not after election!" Still, it's not clear there's any difference: His returns from 2009 on are all still under audit, Trump's lawyers have said -- an indication there's no way the new ones will be free and clear, by Trump's standard, in time for November's election. More from CNN's Jeremy Diamond.

Trump has released his tax returns before -- even amid audits -- to state casino regulators to satisfy license requirements in places such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey. My story.

Hillary Clinton weighed in on Trump's tax returns for the first time after a man yelled about them during a Clinton event in New Jersey. The former secretary of state, who has refused to release transcripts of speeches she gave to Wall Street institutions, said: "My husband and I have released 33 years of tax returns -- we've got eight years on our website right now. So you have got to ask yourself, why does he not release them?" More from CNN's Dan Merica.

Ryan feels the pressure ahead of his meeting with Trump

Ahead of Thursday's big meeting between Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, CNN's Manu Raju, Deirdre Walsh and Tom LoBianco report that rank-and-file House Republicans are urging Ryan to get behind their presumptive nominee. "It makes it harder to unite," said Rep. Raul Labrador, an Idaho Republican. Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei was incredulous about the speaker's high-profile break with Trump last week, saying, "Ryan goes out on CNN and says it's Donald Trump's duty to unite the party," and asks: "So Mr. Speaker, what's your job regarding unity?" Amodei was referencing the interview Paul Ryan gave CNN's Jake Tapper last week, where Ryan said he wasn't ready yet to endorse Trump.

Ryan met with three Trump supporters -- Reps. Chris Collins of New York, Duncan Hunter of California and Renee Ellmers of North Carolina -- on Wednesday afternoon to discuss his meeting with Trump. Those three are part of a group of House GOP Trump backers who are continuing their weekly meetings with Trump's campaign -- the next one at 8 a.m. ET Thursday at the Capitol Hill Club, per Manu.

Cleveland isn't the hot spot it once was, reports CNN's Tal Kopan. For many prominent Republicans, a contested GOP national convention was the last hope for a nominee other than Trump, and they were maneuvering to have a front-row seat to the gamesmanship. But with Trump now the presumptive nominee, a number of would-be delegates are quietly giving up their tickets to Ohio.

Buzzing

Stuart Stevens, a top strategist on Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign, took Donald Trump to task over his failure to release his tax returns.

Last Call

Harry Reid goes postal on Alan Grayson in Democratic meeting

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has long made clear his distaste for Rep. Alan Grayson, an ethics-challenged candidate for Florida's open Senate seat. On Wednesday, with Reid as a guest at a Congressional Progressive Caucus gathering, the two went at each other in person, report The Hill's Scott Wong and Mike Lillis.

Grayson started in on Reid, angrily criticizing the Nevada Democrat's calls for him to drop out of the race amid allegations he ran a hedge fund through his congressional office. "Shame on you. It's not true," Grayson said.

And Reid shot back: "It is true and I want you to lose."

Then Reid's office twisted the knife, saying that "Sen. Reid took the opportunity to express his low opinion of Congressman Grayson to his face."

FBI head on Clinton email probe: 'There's no special set of rules'

From CNN's Pamela Brown: FBI Director James Comey stayed tight-lipped about the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private server and reiterated to reporters during a roundtable Wednesday that there is no external deadline to finish the probe, despite the upcoming Democratic convention in July. However, Comey admitted he feels "pressure" as he does with any high-profile case to do the investigation both promptly and well -- with an emphasis on "well."

Investigation vs. security inquiry: Clinton and her team have consistently called the matter a "security inquiry," but Comey said that's not a term he's familiar with, and "we're conducting an investigation. That's what we do." Asked about complaints from security clearance holders that they would be in jail if they acted similarly to Clinton, the FBI director would only say, "There's no special set of rules for anybody that the FBI investigates."

Clinton's plan to win suburban women: Small, targeted events

From CNN's Dan Merica: Donald Trump is holding massive rallies. Hillary Clinton is spending her time at coffee shops and child care centers. Two candidates, two dramatically different strategies. Clinton headlined a series of conversations in Virginia and Kentucky this week with a focus on kitchen-table issues such as backing universal prekindergarten, rolling out a plan for affordable child care and touting her position on equal pay for women.

Her target: suburban female voters, a critical bloc for the former secretary of state. It's a group that tilted toward Mitt Romney in 2012 and who polls show are not excited about Clinton's candidacy.

Straight Up

"I’m ready to take a chance on it. And just in case it’s a mistake, (I’ll) be gone."

-- T. Boone Pickens, the 87-year-old oil billionaire who on Wednesday said he's supporting Donald Trump's presidential campaign, per The Wall Street Journal's Rebecca Ballhaus.

Tipsy

The first poster for Donald Trump's successor on "The Apprentice," former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is out ... and it's something.

Closing Time

New Quinnipiac swing state polls showing Donald Trump closer to Hillary Clinton than expected have ushered in 2016's polling wars. ... Democrats have filed a bill in hopes of getting the House GOP to vote on Trump's proposed Muslim ban. ... Scared about a Trump presidency? Want to move to Canada -- and maybe even meet your soulmate? There's an app for that.

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Your bartender for CNN Politics' Nightcap is Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) — Tips, thoughts and beer recommendations are always welcome at [email-masked].

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