(CN) - Former South Carolina governor and current Congressman Mark Sanford said Monday he's wavering in his support of Donald Trump, and could abandon the GOP presidential nominee altogether if he continues to refuse to release his income tax returns.
The blast from Sanford in an op-ed in Monday's New York Times, comes three days after Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine, released several years worth of their personal income tax returns.
Sanford, who endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas shortly before the South Carolina primary in February and who famously disappeared for six days in June 2009, only to reappear and admit he'd been with a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair argues that transparency about our political candidates is critical to American democracy."
Whether Trump ultimately wins or loses, Sanford warns, the GOP standard-bearer's "obstinancy" over releasing his tax returns "will have consequences ... our country cannot afford."
Sanford goes on to explain that he's staking out a position over Trump's income taxes returns, not as a "partisan," but as a conservative Republican who wants to support his party' nominee "because of the importance of filling the existing vacancy on the Supreme Court, and others that might open in the next four years."
This, he says, has even allowed him to put aside other deep misgivings about Trump over his "personal style" and "his penchant forregularly demeaning others."
"However, my ability to continue to do so will in part by driven by whether Mr. Trump keeps his word that he will release his tax records," Sanford says.
Sanford closes by pointing out that Trump had criticized 2012 nominee Mitt Romney for moving slowly in releasing his tax returnsm and, in May 2014, said in television interview that 'If I decide to run for office, I'll produce my tax returns, absolutely, and I would love to do that.'"
"Nothing has changed that should justify Mr. Trump's changing his mind," Sanford writes.
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