Tax returns needed to gauge Trump motives

We are a culture that does research; volumes of it exist on the Internet. Want to buy a blender? You can read endless reviews and study specifications.

Want to know if the executive orders of your president were guided by his business ventures? Tough.

I continue to be troubled that our president has not released his tax returns. Kellyanne Conway recently stated, "People didn't care. They voted for him, and let me make this very clear: Most Americans are very focused on what their tax returns will look like while President Trump is in office, not what his look like."

After studying the president's recent actions, I continue to question his intentions. I care. The travel ban, which I don't agree with, lists some countries but omits others who have done our country harm. One concerning coincidence is that countries where Trump has a business interest are omitted, while the countries on the list all lack a Trump name on a building.

"His disclosures are spare in detail, and their structure is like a Russian doll," said Paul Seamus Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, the public interest group. "That his immigration order doesn't impact people from where he does business confirms our worst fears."

With our first billionaire president in office, possessing a seeming level of wealth not seen in the history of our country, we have a right as Americans to know this information. It is the only way for us to trust that our president is driven by his beliefs. If he is driven by ideology, we may not agree, but can understand. If he is driven by business concerns, we must not.

Jason Flaks

Geneva