In an interview with Parade Magazine, who pressed the GOP candidate for an explanation, Romney resorted to a weak tactic:
Our church doesn’t publish how much people have given [to the LDS Church]. This is done entirely privately. One of the downsides of releasing one’s financial information is that this is now all public, but we had never intended our contributions to be known. It’s a very personal thing between ourselves and our commitment to our God and to our church.
But as Salon’s Alex Seitz-Wald is quick to note, we already know how much Romney’s given to the LDS Church in 2010 and 2011, about $4.1 million of his $40 million income in those two years. And remember: George Romney released his returns as well, and he was a leader in the Mormon church.
