The New York Times published Trump’s tax documents from 1995 on Saturday – we discuss what that means for the campaign, as well as media ethics; California's recent string of police shootings and fatalities spur more protests statewide; Plus, a special tribute to legendary Dodger's broadcaster Vin Scully.
AirTalk election 2016 : How both campaigns should spin Trump’s tax returns
1995 was apparently a terrible year for Donald Trump's businesses.
According to pages of Trump's state tax returns for that year, he lost over $900 million. Over the weekend, The New York Times published the pages. It says they were mailed to the paper by an unknown person. Trump's former tax preparer verified them.
How does the disclosure affect the campaigns? Was the Times' publication legal?
Already both campaigns, and news media, are spinning the disclosure. For the Times, the angle is that Trump could have avoided paying income taxes for many subsequent years, given his ability to carry over 1995s huge losses. Meanwhile Hillary Clinton's campaign has declared that "This bombshell report reveals the colossal nature of Donald Trump's past business failures and just how long he may have avoided paying any federal income taxes whatsoever. In one year (he) lost nearly a billion dollars. A billion."
There are many layers to the story -- was Trump's loss during these years a result of business incompetence, or just the nature of highly volatile holdings and investments? Is whether he potentially used his massive losses to offset future income taxes a concern of yours? Should the New York Times have published the pages? There's potential legal exposure, as well as ethical considerations.
Guests:
Dorothy Brown, professor of law at Emory University; she is an expert on tax law
Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist and founder and chief executive officer of Rodriguez Strategies. He is also a former senior Obama advisor in 2008
Lanhee Chen, research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and former policy director for the Romney-Ryan 2012 presidential campaign; he tweets @lanheechen
Kelly McBride, a senior faculty member with The Poynter Institute and one of the nation's leading experts on media ethics
Analyzing officer involved fatalities in South LA, Pasadena, El Cajon, Sacramento
In recent days, a spate of officer involved shootings, Tasering, and associated video footage of fatalities has spurred protests from El Cajon through LA and up to Sacramento.
In South LA on Saturday, LAPD officers shot fatally an 18-year-old black man, Carnell Snell Jr., after a car chase. Police have said a weapon was found near the scene. Snell's family has said officers would not have fired shots if Snell was not black.
Also in South LA on Sunday, LAPD says a man was shot and killed by officers responding to reports of a man with a gun. Officer Liliana Preciado says a firearm was recovered at the scene and that the shooting occurred after officers approached two Hispanic men, one of whom matched the description in the initial call of a suspect with a gun. In Pasadena on Friday, Pasadena Police responded to a 911 call from a man saying his brother was intoxicated and holding a knife. Officers say the man, Reginald Thomas, 35, refused to follow orders, so they used a Taser to attempt to disarm him. After a physical fight ensued and he was restrained, he stopped breathing and died at the scene.
In El Cajon on Friday, police released video showing what unfolded last Tuesday when an officer shot fatally a black man, Alfred Olango, 38.
And in Sacramento on Friday, police dashboard video (and audio enhancements conducted by The Sacramento Bee) of a July 11 incident shows officers attempting to hit a man, Joseph Mann, 50, with their cruiser then shooting him 14 times.
Guests:
Tim Williams, retired LAPD Senior Detective Supervisor (Robbery-Homicide Division), 1974-2003; Expert on police procedure and use-of-force for state and federal courts; owner of T.T. Williams Jr. investigations
David A. Klinger, Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of Missouri--St.Louis ; former LAPD and Redmond, Washington patrol officer
AirTalk listeners look back on the legendary career of Vin Scully
Sunday night marked the last game in the broadcast booth for the voice of the Dodgers, and to many, the voice of baseball.
Vin Scully concluded his 67th and final year behind the mic as the play-by-play broadcaster for the Dodgers on Sunday night in San Francisco. Sadly, the Dodgers couldn’t pull out a win for Vin in his final game, losing to the Giants 7-1, but he got quite the send-off for his final game at Dodger Stadium. In addition to the team thanking and remembering him before the game, the Dodgers won on a walk-off home run that clinched them the National League West Division Title.
For many in Southern California and around the country, Vin Scully was the soundtrack of summer. His smooth delivery, velvety voice, and incomparable storytelling ability captivated audiences of all ages, year after year. People would stop what they were doing just to listen to Vin call a game. Kids everywhere fell asleep listening to Vin call the final innings of a Dodger game continuing late into the night, maybe on the east coast. His memorable calls span generations of Dodgers’ from Sandy Koufax’s perfect game in 1965 to Kirk Gibson’s iconic World Series home run in 1988 to Charlie Culberson’s walk-off homer just a few days ago in Vin’s final game at Dodger stadium, for many it’s his knack for spinning a yarn so fascinating that you’d stop everything to listen that kept them coming back. Vin could even make something as boring as dirt seem interesting. But for so many Southern Californians, Vin was also part of the family. Listening to him call a baseball game seemed like it was just Vin and the listener, one-on-one.
Today on AirTalk, Larry is joined by KPCC’s host of All Things Considered (and human baseball encyclopedia) Nick Roman to look back on Scully’s legendary career and his legacy as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, broadcaster of all time.
Guest:
Nick Roman, host of KPCC’s All Things Considered; he tweets