3 Compelling Reasons Trump May Have Intentionally Leaked His 2005 Tax Return

President Donald Trump's recently released tax return may have revealed nothing surprising, but the White House's willingness to confirm its veracity is actually more revealing. On March 15, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow made quite the hullabaloo over a copy of Trump's tax return from 2005, obtained by David Cay Johnston, a contributor to The Daily Beast.

The document demonstrated what Trump himself has already admitted: his accountants are impressively talented at avoiding taxes. The alleged billionaire paid less than four percent on his 2005 income of $150 million federally and $31 million in an alternative minimum tax. Considering Trump has consistently refused to release his tax returns while citing an audit, it seems odd that the White House would suddenly verify this 1040 form. But the move is ostensibly intentional.

Several journalists, including Johnston, have suggested that Trump leaked his own tax return (the document is clearly stamped "client copy") and there are few convincing reasons for why that might be the case.

As HuffingtonPost journalist Seth Abramson points out, the White House's "spooked" response to the leak suggests his other tax returns might be less innocuous.

The president has consistently fought the claim that he is not worth has much money as he contends. This tax return reveals that Trump made $150 million in a year that was financially volatile for many. However, this 1040 fails to prove that Trump is actually a billionaire.

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough points out that Trump possibly leaked this tax return as a distraction from Russia and his botched health care reform effort.