Sen. Tom Cotton
Tom Bryant CottonSenate Republicans press federal authorities for information on Texas synagogue hostage-taker Sunday shows preview: US reaffirms support for Ukraine amid threat of Russian invasion Senate's antitrust bill would raise consumer prices and lower our competitiveness MORE faced a combative town hall audience on Monday when he defended President Trump
Donald TrumpNorth Korea conducts potential 6th missile test in a month Kemp leading Perdue in Georgia gubernatorial primary: poll US ranked 27th least corrupt country in the world MORE's decision not to release his tax returns.
The Arkansas Republican was loudly booed during an event in Little Rock when asked if he would back forcing Trump to release the documents, so voters could see if the president has any ties to foreign government.
"As far as I'm aware the president says he's still under audit," Cotton said.
He added that "the president is also right that this was not a secondary or side issue of the campaign, this was a central issue of the campaign ... and he won this fight already."
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Several constituents held up red cards indicating that they disagree.
Thousands of people turned out across the country over the weekend to demand that Trump release his tax returns, after he broke decades of presidential tradition by refusing to make them public.
Trump said during the campaign it was due to an audit, but the IRS said that did not legally prevent him from releasing the documents. Once he took office, the White House said he had no plans to release them.
Democrats continue to push for Trump to release the documents, speculating that it could show ties to Russia.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
Chuck SchumerSchumer vows to vote on Biden Supreme Court pick with 'all deliberate speed' Voting rights failed in the Senate — where do we go from here? Forced deadline spurs drastic tactic in Congress MORE (D-N.Y.) said last week that it would be harder to do tax reform if Trump doesn't release the documents, because lawmakers won't know if he's proposing cuts that would benefit himself.
Chuck SchumerSchumer vows to vote on Biden Supreme Court pick with 'all deliberate speed' Voting rights failed in the Senate — where do we go from here? Forced deadline spurs drastic tactic in Congress MORE (D-N.Y.) said last week that it would be harder to do tax reform if Trump doesn't release the documents, because lawmakers won't know if he's proposing cuts that would benefit himself. But Cotton added on Monday that there were other ways to figure out if Trump has tied to countries overseas, including a financial disclosure form that Trump has to fill out.
"Second, it doesn't take a lot of effort to find out where Donald Trump has connections overseas. He normally puts his name on buildings where he has them," he said.
