"Not releasing his tax returns would hurt transparency in our democratic process," Mark Sanford writes. | AP Photo GOP Rep. Sanford: Trump's refusal to release tax returns will damage transparency

Donald Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns could shatter the transparency of the democratic process for future generations in presidential and down-ballot races, Republican Rep. Mark Sanford said Sunday.

The South Carolina congressman, who plans to support his party’s nominee despite his bombastic rhetoric, argued in a New York Times op-ed that “[w]ords come and go,” but his decision not to disclose his tax returns could “reverberate long after the campaign is over.”


“To him, demands that he release his tax returns are just a ploy by his opponents and enemies to undermine his campaign. But that obstinacy will have consequences,” Sanford warned. “Not releasing his tax returns would hurt transparency in our democratic process, and particularly in how voters evaluate the men and women vying to be our leaders. Whether he wins or loses, that is something our country cannot afford.”

Sanford said he will vote for Trump in November — if he keeps his words by releasing his records.

“For one, it’s not really about his tax records per se. It’s about the American public’s ability to see other candidates’ returns,” he explained. “We have a long precedent in which every major-party presidential candidate since I was a child has released his returns. Break it now, and it stays broken.”

Allowing voters to see a candidate’s tax returns is a “central part” of determining who belongs in the Oval Office, Sanford said, adding that the “real issue” goes beyond disclosing tax returns in the presidential race.

“Rather, it’s about the hundreds of down-ballot races, in states and localities, and the transparency voters deserve here, too,” he said, noting that he released his taxes both times he ran for South Carolina governor, a move he said “felt a little like a colonoscopy.”

“The power of staying true to the precedent that had been set prevailed,” he continued. “If presidential candidates won’t release their tax returns, you can expect the same in the states. If a presidential nominee doesn’t do it, why should a candidate for governor?”

While Trump has wavered on whether he will release his tax returns, citing that he’s been advised not to do so while he’s under audit, Hillary Clinton has released her 2015 income tax return, and her running mate, Tim Kaine, and his wife have released a decade of tax returns in effort to ramp up pressure on the Republican presidential nominee to follow suit.

Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, has also said he will release his tax returns. And Trump should, too, Sanford said.

“As with so many things in our country, the standards we set for the president determine what political standards we set for the rest of the country,” he said.