Who really leaked Donald Trump’s tax returns?

You may remember that after the debate last week I practically begged Donald Trump to release his tax returns, not so that we could condemn him, but because we wanted to copy him.

Related: How well do you know the vice presidential candidates?

And now, a week later, what shows up in The New York Times but pages from Donald Trump’s tax returns. And not just any pages, but the very pages that show him to be – how did Rudy Giuliani put it?

“The reality is, this is part of our tax code. The man is a genius,” Giuliani said.

Thank you. The parts that show the man is a genius. Because he figured out a legal way to rack up enough losses to offset all his income from hosting the Apprentice, which would mean he could collect that money tax-free.

Hillary Clinton, of course, immediately ridiculed him.

“What kind of genius loses a billion dollars in a single year?” she asked.

Well, the kind of genius who knew he could turn a loss into a gain. I think he actually wants to release his tax returns because he’s proud of them, but doesn’t want to appear to be caving into all the demands from his critics.

How easy would it be for him to get up in the middle of the night, send out a few tweets as a distraction, then catch an Uber over to the Times, and slip an envelope under the door?

The Times says those leaked tax returns came from an anonymous source. But I wouldn’t be surprised if that anonymous source turns out to be one Donald J. Trump.

Think about it. Here is a man who understands the tax laws better than – how did he put it?

“I understand the tax laws better than almost anyone,” he said.

Better than almost anyone. And I think he wants us to know that.

I know our complex tax laws better than anyone who has ever run for president and am the only one who can fix them. #failing@nytimes

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2016

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