The reveal of President Donald Trump's 2005 taxes turned out to be a win for the White House, former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor told CNBC on Wednesday.
But Cantor, who served seven terms as a Republican congressman from Virginia, argued that Trump should stop resisting and release all of his tax information, like every other president since Richard Nixon. Cantor is currently vice chairman and managing director at investment bank Moelis & Co.
"Transparency" has been the best standard, he said, adding that releasing Trump's returns would put an end of "conspiracy theories" about what they may show.
The White House said Tuesday evening that Trump paid $38 million in taxes on income of more than $150 million for 2005. The statement pre-empted MSNBC's Rachel Maddow's promised reveal of the information obtained by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Cay Johnston.
Johnston said the material showed up in his mail. He speculated it could have been Trump who sent it due to his "long history of leaking material about himself when he thinks it's in his interests."
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of MSNBC and CNBC.