MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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SCHULTZ: Let`s turn to Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois.

Senator, good to have you with us tonight. I appreciate you time.

DURBIN: Thanks, Ed.

SCHULTZ: This is abnormal. You pointed that out. Do you think the American people are OK with this, or is this a real issue?

DURBIN: It`s a real issue. Let`s put it in perspective. Who set the standard for income disclosure of presidential candidates? Mitt Romney`s father. Mitt Romney`s father filed 12 years of income tax returns and said this ought to be the standard. How many years of income tax returns has Mitt Romney, his son, filed?

One.

SCHULTZ: Well --

DURBIN: It`s the least amount of disclosure of any presidential candidate of either political party in the last 36 years.

SCHULTZ: So it`s tax avoidance or is it Romney just not trusting American banks and the American currency? What do you think it is?

DURBIN: Ed, I`m serious, I have asked business leaders, I have asked Republican senators, I asked Warren Buffett the following question, why would anybody need a Swiss bank account? Warren Buffett said I never had one. I think we have a lot of great banks in America.

But, you know, they basically say the same thing. There are two reasons to have a Swiss bank account. To conceal your wealth and transactions involving your wealth from government scrutiny, number one. Or number two, because you happen to think the Swiss franc is a stronger currency than the United States dollar.

And I might remind you, Mitt Romney made his decisions on moving money
into Switzerland when there was a Republican president.

SCHULTZ: Today, Romney said the offshore investments are in a blind trust. His comment was, "I don`t manage them. I don`t even know where they are."
Is this an adequate response?

DURBIN: No, and let me tell you why. When he was badgered by his fellow Republican opponents in the course of the primary, he finally released one year`s tax return. That`s it, all we have seen. One year, and they were able to trace the Sankaty, which is a private corporation blind trust that his family owns.

Listen to this, Ed -- the day before he was sworn in as governor of Massachusetts, he transferred the money in this Sankaty into a blind trust
in his wife`s name in some foreign tax haven.

SCHULTZ: No coincident there?

DURBIN: So it wouldn`t have to be reported.

SCHULTZ: No coincidence there. Just happen the day before he was sworn in.

DURBIN: Yes. And so, it`s never been disclosed.

And you have to ask yourself, the average American has to ask themselves, why would we stand for a person running for the highest office in the land concealing important elements of their own investment decisions.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHULTZ: So, Senator Durbin, is this the way it`s going to be all the way up to the election? We`re going to know very little about the Republican candidate`s finances and where his money and is he tells the American public, he doesn`t know where they are, it`s managed by somebody else?

DURBIN: Well, I`ll tell you what? He`s taking on some water on that little boat when it comes to disclosure at this point, because Americans are skeptical of this.

SCHULTZ: Yes. All right. You are sponsoring a bill to reduce tax haven abuse.

DURBIN: Here`s what it boils down to -- Al Franken and I put in a bill several month ago. And it says this: on the financial disclosure forms for all members of Congress, for all candidates for president and vice president, you have to specifically disclose whether or not you or anyone in your family is invested in foreign tax havens to avoid taxes in the United States.

I think that`s a very basic question that should be asked not just of Mitt Romney but of all members of Congress. All candidates for president.

SCHULTZ: Do you think Mitt Romney is abusing the American tax system and not paying his fair share?

DURBIN: I don`t know. I wouldn`t draw that conclusion. I`d say to him, present the evidence. Show us what you`ve done. Have you paid your fair share of taxes? Have you handled your financial affairs as a businessman and a person of wealth in a way that is responsible?

SCHULTZ: Senator Dick Durbin, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much.

DURBIN: Thanks, Ed.

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