Perhaps I’m the exception, but it really bugs me when people don’t pay the taxes they owe. These people want the benefits the government provides — such as roads, water, safe food, etc. — but don’t want to pay for them. I call these people “freeloaders.” I’m afraid our president may be one, but I don’t know, because he won’t release his tax returns. I also don’t know whether he’s entangled in Russia with his businesses.

A lot of what I (and you) don’t know about Mr. Trump could be cleared up by seeing his tax returns, but Trump resists revealing them and his party backs him. That includes my representative Dave Reichert, who’s voted three times against releasing Mr. Trump’s tax returns.

Of course, private citizens want to keep their tax returns private and they have every right to. However, Mr. Trump is no longer a private citizen. He’s broken with longstanding tradition by not releasing his tax returns and Mr. Reichert is supporting him up on this. Shame on them both.

David Miller

Issaquah