WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will release 33 years of tax returns online Tuesday, giving voters a clearer picture of Bush’s wealth and business dealings over the years.
“This is more than any presidential candidate in the history of the United States. This display of transparency is consistent with the high level of disclosure he has practiced during his life in public office,” Bush spokeswoman Allie Brandenburger told CNN in an email Tuesday morning.
Bob Dole, the Republican presidential nominee in 1996, released 30 years of tax returns during his run for the presidency, the most of any candidate so far.
Bush worked in the private sector before he ran for election and served two four-year terms as Florida’s governor. He then returned to the private sector in 2007, signing on as an adviser to financial giant Lehman Brothers — the company whose collapse in 2008 sparked the financial crisis. He would then serve as a senior financial consultant at the London-based banking giant Barclays.
Those positions are just the tip of a lucrative business career that has lined Bush’s pockets — including forming his own investment firm.
Bush dropped his positions in business ventures and on group’s boards late last year and earlier this year as he prepared a run for president — a bid he eventually announced earlier this month.
The tax documents will reveal not just how much wealth Bush has accrued over the years and his tax rate, but will also provide a picture of Bush’s charitable contributions over the years.
Bush’s release of more than three decades of tax returns is just the latest move aimed at portraying Bush as a transparent candidate — one who contrasts Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, whose candidacy has been marred in questions about her use of a private email server and her disclosures of emails during her time as secretary of state.
Bush turned over about 280,000 emails from his time as governor, releasing them online for the public to see. Florida’s strong open records laws would have seen those emails released following a public records request.
Tuesday’s release also comes just as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announces his run for president later in the day, giving Bush an opportunity to cut into his soon-to-be rival’s coverage.
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