By this date in 2012, even Mitt Romney had released his most recent completed tax return. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/24/mitt-romney-tax-returns_n_1225968.html

Last October, Bernie Sanders quietly amended his last three years worth of Personal Financial Disclosures to report four mortgage loans he previously omitted. All US Senators are required by law to complete a financial disclosure every year and they're available online to the public at the Senate website.

An amended disclosure doesn’t necessarily indicate malfeasance. Bernie submitted a total of seven amendments in the last three years. He amended his 2013 disclosure three times, and his 2012 and 2014 disclosures twice. Some of the information required by law may still be missing and when you’re Bernie Sanders people expect a good example.

When Sanders amended his 2012 disclosure last October, he described one of his properties as the "Initial mortgage of condo for mother," instead of disclosing its value and the amount of rental income received from it. Bernie has talked a bit about his life during the campaign and he mentioned in a video that his mother died when she was still quite young. He was still a teenager. It was long before the mortgage date in year 2000. It’s possible the description refers to his mother-in-law, but she is also deceased. What matters for disclosure is how the property is used today.

In 2011 and 2012, a rental property with the same mortgage date and similar interest rate was disclosed with a value of $100,001 to $250,000 and rental income of $5,001 to $15,000. However, he listed two different locations for it, Burlington, VT and Washington, DC.

In 2013, no properties were reported. Disclosure of the mortgage liability and rental income is required by law. If the property was sold, Bernie was obligated to disclose that, too. Instead, he certified that there was no such transaction that year. He didn't report any real estate ownership or sales in 2014, either.

For years 2011 through 2014, Bernie's disclosures said that he owned no assets in his name, at all. That’s unusual and maybe even unlikely because of his income amount. Since 1991, he collected $3.8 million in compensation for holding office. He has a pension from the city of Burlington, too. And rental income in the years when he disclosed it.

Instead of assets, Bernie reported liabilities in the form of credit card debt that ranged from $25,001 to $165,000 over the four years.

All of the assets he reported are owned by his wife who was eligible for Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Funds (TIAA-CREF) through her employment at Burlington College. Her retirement accounts appreciated in value from $285,000 in 2011 to $481,000 in 2014.

In October 2015, Bernie decided to disclose his unreported mortgage loans. He listed himself as the borrower. Three mortgages were listed in amendments to the 2013 and 2014 disclosures. It’s possible that the second mortgage on his DC residence was combined with the first but that isn't certain. If the properties in Vermont and DC are primary residences, their value doesn't have to be disclosed and without that information, his true net worth is unknown, in case anyone wonders about that. If the third property is rented, he needs to disclose its value and the amount of rental income.

For the sake of transparency, Bernie should release his tax returns, too, which would answer other questions about his finances. In 2012, there was endless controversy for Mitt Romney because of his refusal to release his tax returns. Bernie's not in the same income category but he's far from poor. And despite his resistance, Mitt Romney had already released his most recent completed tax return by this time, four years ago,.

Certainly, Bernie can do better than Mitt.