Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he was “absolutely confident” that Mitt Romney has paid taxes, refuting a claim by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that Romney had not paid taxes for 10 years, the Las Vegas Sun reports.
McCain's team reviewed 23 years of Romney’s tax returns during the vetting process for the vice presidential decision in 2008, he's previously said. On Monday, McCain shot down the Nevada Democrat's accusation.
“I am absolutely confident (that he paid taxes),” McCain told the Sun. Later he said, “Nothing in his tax returns showed that he did not pay taxes.”
Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who were also interviewed by the Sun, both called Reid’s claims “sad” and “disappointing.”
“Harry’s making it up,” Graham said. “He’s trying to interject himself into the presidential campaign using the floor of the United State Senate in a way that no one else has done in the history of the Senate. Shame on you, Harry, for doing it.”
Earlier this month, Reid said on the Senate floor that an unnamed source told him that Romney did not pay taxes for 10 years. Democrats have come to Reid’s defense, while Republicans have criticized the Senate leader for what they call unfounded claims. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus went so far as to call Reid a “dirty liar” in a television interview.
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