GOP Gov. Christie says Romney should release his tax returns

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said on Wednesday that he would encourage GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney to release his tax returns.

"I've released all my tax returns. I did it in the campaign," said Christie on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday. "I went back a number of years and released my tax returns, and I release them every year after I file them, right after I file them, to the public in New Jersey so they can see them.

"And I think that's the right way to go, and that's what I would tell Gov. Romney to do. Now, he said he would release them in April. I hope he does. That's what I would advise him to do."

Traditionally, presidential candidates release their tax returns sometime during the campaign. Opponents of Romney have quickly pounced on the fact that he has not released his returns yet. 

"I looked at what has been done in campaigns in the past … they've tended to release tax records in April, in tax season," Romney said during the Monday debate. "If that's the tradition, I'm not opposed to doing that."

Romney has faced growing calls to release the records quickly.

“It’s not for us to call on someone to release his tax records, but it is an established tradition for presidential candidates to release their tax records,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday.

The Democratic National Committee also questioned why Romney won't release his returns if he has nothing to hide. “Why wouldn’t he just put it all out in the open?” DNC spokeswoman Melanie Roussell asked in a conference call Tuesday.

Romney provided additional ammunition for critics after saying on Tuesday that he "probably" pays a tax rate of about 15 percent. Democrats are likely to argue that Romney, who has a net worth believed to be around $200 million, is paying a tax rate lower than many in the middle class.

Christie has endorsed Romney for president and has been the subject of media speculation as a possible vice presidential pick.