Pawlenty: Mitt Romney has 'paid a lot of taxes'

[July 18, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty is defending Mitt Romney's refusal to make a wide-ranging release of his tax returns, arguing "there is no claim or no credible indication" he's done anything wrong.

Pawlenty, whose name has figured prominently in speculation about the Republican vice presidential selection process, tells "CBS This Morning" he thinks the news media have been obsessed by questions surrounding Romney's taxes. And he accuses President Barack Obama of "hanging shiny objects before the public and the press, and the press is taking the bait."

The former two-term Minnesota governor called releasing two years' of returns "the standard for Republican nominees." Pawlenty says, "I don't think there's any secret to the fact that Mitt Romney has been successful and he's achieved success and he's paid a lot of taxes."

[Associated Press]

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