I’m sure Rep. Dave Reichert agrees that whenever someone wishes to serve in public office, that person needs to be properly vetted.

The whole Michael Flynn debacle demonstrates what happens when potential office-holders are either shoddily vetted or not vetted at all.

What other documents could provide Americans with a more comprehensive picture of a presidential candidate than his tax returns? Lawsuits? Sexual harassment claims? No.

Everyone knows which documents best reveal a person’s critical financial ties in order to avoid conflicts of interest: Their tax returns. President Donald Trump’s tax returns will allow the American public to vet him more thoroughly than anything else. All Americans deserve that.

The president’s job is to formulate both domestic and foreign policy. So how are we — the American constituency — to know if our president is acting in our best interests, or simply his own, if we don’t know who holds sway over his finances?

Mr. Reichert spent his former life in law enforcement. “Follow the money” was wise advice when he attempted to discover criminal behavior. “Follow the money” is astute advice in politics as well.

Publish Trump’s taxes.

John Scannell

Sammamish