Mr. Trump, we challenge you: release your tax returns and we'll donate to these veterans organizations

If you happen to be a Daily Show fan, you might have seen our benefactor Reid Hoffman last night. Trevor Noah had him on to talk about his generous donation, and Reid was kind enough to give our campaign a shout out! We’re expecting some more media attention this week as Trump’s tax returns come more and more into the spotlight. I’ll be sure to keep everyone updated.

In the mean-time, I wanted to talk about the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. This Foundation provides full financial assistance to children of fallen special operators pursuing higher education at any accredited institution and also provides care to the severely wounded personnel from the SOF community. The demand on special operations servicemembers consumes their time and puts them at higher risk for severe injury throughout their careers. This elite population answers these demands sacrificing the time with their families to support and defend our country. This is no small sacrifice, and so when one from our community is injured or killed, it is our responsibility to take care of them and their families in the best possible way. This organization shoulders that responsibility, I’m happy to support them with our campaign

Good morning everyone,

Yesterday our campaign passed $400,000 in small donations, which is an average of $20,000 a day! We are well on our way to meeting Reid Hoffman’s challenge to raise one million dollars before the final debate on October 19th. We have 22 days left to raise another $600,000. With Trump’s tax returns becoming a popular issue for the election, I really think we can do this.

I need help sharing the campaign and spreading the message. I recently had an Op-Ed Published in Task & Purpose, explaining why I challenged Donald Trump to release his tax returns. Feel free to share any of this with your friends and family to hold Trump accountable and raise money for veterans!

Today I want to mention the Travis Manion Foundation, founded in memory of 1st Lt Travis Manion who died leading a counter attack saving his patrol when they were ambushed in Al Anbar, Iraq. You might know this as the foundation that sponsors the annual 9/11 Heroes run. They support gold star families, keep the stories of men and women who’ve sacrificed their lives, and connect veterans with youths in their community to inspire the next generation. This organization empowers veterans to give back to their communities by integrating them with different programs, a powerful and important mission. I’m looking forward to supporting them with our campaign.

Dear Friends,

Last night’s debate was a high water mark for Trump’s tax returns. The issue was front and center coming early in the debate, he faced some heat from both Hillary Clinton and the moderator Lester Holt over his apparent use of them as a negotiable bargain chip. The issue has been elevated in political discourse, and perhaps most importantly Trump did not out right refuse to release them. In fact, he said he has full intentions of releasing them, making the results of our campaign raising money for veterans charities highly promising. I came away from last night’s debates energized and optimistic, please help me get the word out and to continue raising money for these fantastic groups.

Today I’d like to mention the Yellow Ribbon Fund. The Yellow Ribbon fund provides support to fill the gaps of the recovery process for our returning wounded veterans. They also support families and care-givers of injured returning veterans well. This support lessens the financial burden that comes with being disabled and navigating the difficult transition and rehabilitation process after the military. This is a powerful mission that is going to receive our support if Trump releases his tax returns.

Tonight at 9:00pm millions of people will be tuning in to watch the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. I’m sure everyone is as anxious as I am to see if Trump is asked why he hasn’t released his tax returns. Between now and the final debate on October 19th is the time this campaign can elevate this issue. I’ll be tweeting about the event live if you can’t tune in feel free to follow me on twitter: @Peter_J_K

In the meantime, I want to talk about one of our most important charities, Children of Fallen Patriots. There are nearly 20,000 dependents who have been left behind by the men and women killed in the line of duty. I personally know 14 children who have been left behind among my four friends who were killed in Afghanistan. I believe it is our responsibility as a society to help these families bear the burdens of war by supporting their children as best we can. No amount of money can replace a mother or father, but we can ease the financial burden and mentor these children in constructive ways. Children of Fallen Patriots does just that, they provide scholarships and educational counseling to these children. I am proud to name them as a recipient of this campaign.

Last week Trump Jr. mentioned a new reason for his father not releasing his tax returns. Doing so “would distract from Trump’s main message.” I’m not sure that paying attention to the issues that could compromise a candidate on national security qualifies as a ‘distraction.’ Our national security is the President’s primary responsibility, why shouldn’t we pay attention to it?

In other news, I want to mention a fantastic organization call Team Rubicon. One of the biggest difficulties veterans face when they separate from the military is the sense of purpose that comes with being relied upon in dire situations. Team Rubicon provides that purpose as a disaster relief organization, organizing and creating teams of veterans and first responders who provide critical services around the world after natural disasters. They do incredible work helping to restore communities with an important and fulfilling mission. I’m looking forward to supporting them with the money we’ve raised.

When servicemembers undergo background investigations for security clearances, it's about more than just virtues of integrity and honesty. From a very practical perspective, it is about conflicts of interest. The government seeks to determine if there are any conflicts of interest that would jeopardize one’s ability to safeguard our nation’s secrets. They answer important questions, do you or your immediate family have any international affiliations? Do you have any risky financial positions or debt? Have you had lapses in judgement due to alcohol or drug use? All of these are things that could be exploited by our adversaries and pose a conflict of interest.

As a billionaire with financial dealing around the world, the American public is entitled to know whether or not Trump has any positions that would pose a conflict of interest, and risk our national security. Tax returns reveal that information. It is one thing for a servicemember who holds top secret information to undergo a background check, it is another thing for the person who commands the nation’s military to reveal his conflicts of interest.

Today I’d like to mention Hire Heroes USA. Hire Heroes is an organization founded in 2012 to address the higher than average veteran unemployment. Their mission is straightforward, help servicemembers transition and find employment after the military. They provide training and resume reviews to help qualify veterans and then help place them into good jobs. Coming from the military it is difficult to adjust to the demands of the civilian workforce, hire heroes fills that critical gap. I believe in their mission and look forward to supporting their organization.

Our campaign is not a partisan campaign. We are concerned citizens interested in learning about the integrity of all candidates who are seeking the highest office in our nation. We think that Trump should be held to the same standards as every other presidential candidate for the last 40 years.

People on both sides of the aisle want to see Trump’s tax returns. A recent article by politico shows as many as 62% of republicans what him to reveal his returns. With all of the recent revelations surrounding the Trump foundation, we (the citizens of this country) have a right to know who is asking to be elected as President of the United States of America. http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/poll-should-trump-release-tax-returns-227408

Today I want to mention Hope For The Warriors, an organization that is dedicated to helping disabled veterans, their families, and gold star families bear the burdens of war. I personally know many people who have been helped by this tremendous organization, they support veterans in many different capacities ranging from transitioning to health and wellness. I believe in their cause so much I am running the NYC marathon and running a separate fundraiser for them. If Trump decides to releases his tax returns, this organization will be sure to put your money to good use.

Fellow integrity seekers,

Great news, we hit our target goal of $200,000 early Sunday morning! Right now we’re sitting at nearly $209,000 and we’ve had over 2,300 donations. Thank you so much for everyone’s help in getting the word out about the campaign. Please feel free to use our hashtags if you post or tweet about us!

I wanted to take some time to talk about the individual charities we’ve selected to donate to and highlight some of the work they do. Each day I’ll be writing about a different charity to talk about who they are and what they do.

First on the list is the Pat Tillman Foundation, founded in memory of Pat Tillman who walked away from his NFL career to enlist in the Army and serve as a Ranger, sadly he was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. This foundation provides elite scholarships to future leaders who are veterans and military spouses to pursue degrees in higher education. The foundation inspires folks from the veteran community to reach higher by meeting all their financial needs for their degrees. The Pat Tillman Foundation is an exemplary way to honor the memory of a hero who sacrificed everything for his country, by inspiring the leaders of tomorrow.

Thanks for supporting this organization with your pledges! If we can convince Trump to release his tax returns this money will go to a great cause…

Hey Friends,

It's been a long seven days and we’ve made a lot of progress! We’re currently at over $186,000 for veterans organizations, that is 18% towards our goal of 1 million in just the first full week. A few things to remember: these are pledges we’re making, which means no one gets charged a single penny unless Trump releases his tax returns. Our growing balance is the money veterans organizations stand to lose if Trump fails to release his tax returns.

The heat is getting turned up on Trump and his failure to be transparent about his tax returns and charitable giving. If you haven’t seen David Fahrenthold’s story about Trump’s charitable donations, then it's worth a look... https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/2016-election/trump-charity-donations/

I’m asking everyone who’s contributed to this campaign to please share it with your friends and family. These veterans organizations all serve incredible causes, I’ll be speaking more about them next week. This is both a movement to hold our candidates accountable while raising money to help veterans in a variety of ways. Thank you so much for your incredible support of the veteran community!

Good Morning Everyone!

We are well on our way to reaching our goal of $200,000, we’re at +$163,000 and nearly 2,000 individual donors at the moment. Over 34 news outlets have pushed Trump about his tax returns, showing our movement is having an impact.

Every other candidate in this race, Hillary Clinton, Mike Pence, and Tim Kaine have all released 10 years of their personal tax returns. Tax returns are an important mechanism of transparency showing how a person makes their money, who and where it comes from, what organizations they are affiliated with and who they give money to. This is an important way for our highest office seekers to build trust with the American public.

At this point, given the publicity Trump’s tax returns have received, you really have to wonder why he isn’t willing to release them. Our challenge is for him to release 10 years of tax returns before the final Presidential debate on October 19th. The reason the deadline is so the American public can be given the time to review the tax returns and question Trump about them at the final debate if they so choose.

Thanks for supporting this movement and campaign. Please keep sharing the message, every dollar counts!

Hey Friends,

We’ve crushed the fundraising game over the last couple days raising unreal amounts of money for veterans. Our viral campaign has been featured in 57 different articles over the last two days. We’re trying to keep up the momentum and hit $200,000 by the end of the day.

Regardless of anyone’s politics most of us would agree that raising money for veterans groups is a great thing. At the same time most us would agree that we expect our leaders to meet the baseline of transparency. Putting those two things together makes this campaign a win-win.

Most of the money coming in are small $10 donations, but with Reid Hoffman’s 5:1 match, every seemingly small donation is multiplied by 5. Every dollar counts and these small dollar donations are sending a pretty powerful message. Please help us keep the movement going!

Hey Everyone,

I’m truly touched by all the support for this campaign. Together we’ve raised over $100,000 just a day after Reid Hoffman pledged to match our donations by a multiple of 5. That means we’ve raised over $600,000.00 in a grassroots campaign demanding that integrity still matters in our elections.

We’ve had over 1,000 contributions in a single day, showing that this has gone viral and is quickly growing into a movement, to support veterans while holding Trump accountable to release his tax returns. We’ve been tagged in over a dozen articles and news segments, CNN, Fox and Forbes just to name a few.

This campaign shows that when organized, people still have a voice in this election. Please share and endorse our campaign as widely as possible so we can hit our $1,000,000 (+$5,000,000) goal before the final debate.

Below are some of our highlights:

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a48567/trump-tax-returns-military-veteran-campaign/

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/14/us/politics/linkedin-hoffman-trump-tax-returns-veterans.html?_r=0

http://www.businessinsider.com/reid-hoffman-millions-to-vets-donald-trump-tax-returns-2016-9

I just up'ed my goal - I cant believe it Reid Hoffman just pledged $5million if we raise $1million. This is crazy, please help me get to this goal - Let's put as much pressure as we can on Trump to release his Tax Returns. $6 million going to Veterans Organizations seems like a good incentive to me!!

Dear Friends,

Every year I raise money for gold star families, like those of the friends I lost in Afghanistan. This campaign is a clever way to take advantage of the political climate and raise money for veteran groups while holding Trump accountable. There are billions of dollars spent every election cycle, this is a way to make sure some of it goes to the causes that truly matter. Please share this campaign and donating to support veterans.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to have been on Rachel Maddow's show tonight. I got to talk about some substantive issues overlooked by the media. By good friend Matt Zeller founded and runs No One Left Behind, a great organization fighting to bring interpreters back to the United States, and theHeadstrong Project is a great organization started by Zachary Iscol offering free therapy to veterans suffering from PTSD. Thanks for helping give a voice to veterans and reflecting on the effects after 15 years of war.

This week, four years ago, I started my freshman year at Columbia University after separating from the military. Over the last three years, I have worked to engage and build on a veteran community both at Columbia and the broader New York City. Last night I was humbled to have the privilege to attend and bring a number of fellow veterans to the Commander-in-Chief forum. As I saw the room fill with friends and familiar faces, I couldn’t help but appreciate the NYC veteran community and everything they have worked so hard to accomplish.

Yet I found myself frustrated with the Commander-in-Chief forum, not because of the event or the organizations running it, but because of imperfect candidates. I was frustrated about hard hitting questions going unasked, and a room full of veterans spanning decades of conflicts who left underwhelmed. I thought back to everything this community has built, and everything this community has bled and fought for, and wondered how this was could happen.

Regardless of political opinions, Hillary Clinton has released 8 years of her personal tax returns. Donald Trump, however, has refused to do the same. I cannot sit idly and watch while Trump’s integrity goes unchallenged.

Any servicemember who has ever held a security clearance has been subjected to a rigorous background check, to include personal finances, affiliations, and drug activity, all for good reason. The nation entrusts its defense to this small group of talented and determined patriots, in return for this responsibility the nation asks for honesty and integrity. I believe that to be the Commander-in-Chief of this group, you should be held to the same standards.

I am calling on Donald J. Trump to release his tax returns. Every President since Nixon has released their tax returns as an important mechanism of transparency, showing Americans what organizations they support and are affiliated with. In seeking to do my civic duty as an informed and independent voter, I am starting a campaign to pressure Trump to release his tax returns.

This fundraising campaign will raise money for ten veterans groups. Only if Trump releases his tax returns, will any donors be charged and money donated to these organizations. Trump claims to love veterans, and so we’re asking him to put his money where his mouth is. These ten groups all support causes that I personally believe in and best identify with the current generation of millennial veterans.

To be clear, raising and donating this money to veterans groups will not cost a penny to Donald Trump, just the release of his tax returns. I’m asking people to donate whatever they would to support these charities.

#taxreturnsforvets

#intergritymatters