NY Times Calls for McCain Tax Disclosure

Add the NY Times to the long list of newspaper editorial boards calling for Cindy McCain to release her tax records:

Senator John McCain’s wife, Cindy McCain, has decided not to release her tax returns — not now and not in the future. In the interest of transparency and to support her husband’s frequent calls for clean and open government, she should rethink that decision.

There is no question that Mr. McCain — the candidate — has reaped considerable benefits from his wife’s wealth, including discounted use of her company’s corporate jet to fly from state to state during this campaign.

Voters also deserve to know whether any of Senator McCain’s official actions have benefited his wife, family members, or their business associates, as they did in the case of Charles Keating, the Arizona developer and savings and loan operator at the center of the Keating Five scandal two decades ago. A year before Mr. McCain’s 1987 meetings with bank regulators on Mr. Keating’s behalf, Mrs. McCain and her father invested more than $350,000 in a strip mall developed by Mr. Keating.

During the 2004 presidential campaign, we urged Teresa Heinz Kerry, the wealthy wife of Senator John Kerry, to release her tax returns. So did the Republican National Committee. This time, predictably, the R.N.C. has switched sides. Senator and Mrs. McCain should show that they’re both committed to open government and release Mrs. McCain’s returns.