Jun 19, 2012
How Jason Plummer Spent His Summer Vacation
Millionaire heir Jason Plummer, who already came under fire in his 2010 failed political bid for faking Washington D.C. work experience, is at it again. Plummer, who just turned 30, is back to boasting about his D.C. internships, telling Southern Illinois families at townhall that he’d written extensively for the Heritage Foundation on the U.S. tax code. In reality, Plummer’s superiors even said that interns spent most of their time making copies and fetching food for actual staff.
Plummer told townhall attendees, “I think that we have to tackle the loopholes that exist, and the interesting thing about me is you can find papers that I wrote a long time ago, dating back to ’05 at the Heritage Foundation, and things I worked on then, that talked about the fact that the loopholes were being exploited.”
The extent of Plummer’s knowledge of tax loopholes remains unknown since he refuses to disclose his tax returns to voters or answer whether he’s stacked his inexplicable millions in overseas tax shelters.
“How can Jason Plummer look Southern Illinois families in the eye and equate a D.C. internship making copies to work experience or policy expertise?” asked Haley Morris of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Plummer has never had a real job, and it shows. Folks in Southern Illinois work hard, but they’re feeling the effects of corporations manipulating tax loopholes to ship good jobs overseas. Intern Extraordinare Jason Plummer is so entitled and out of touch, he would assume his summer vacation in D.C. makes him an expert on tax policy.”
Background
Plummer Touted his Internship Experience. At a town hall event in June 2012, Plummer touted his internship experience at the Heritage Foundation claiming that he wrote several papers on tax loopholes. Plummer said, “I think that we have to tackle the loopholes that exist, and the interesting thing about me is you can find papers that I wrote a long time ago, dating back to ’05 at the Heritage Foundation, and things I worked on then, that talked about the fact that the loopholes were being exploited.” [Carbondale Town Hall, 6/15/12]
Plummer Exaggerated his Résumé. Jason Plummer has been repeatedly caught exaggerating his resume. In 2010, he was caught trying to spin his Heritage Foundation internship as substantive experience. According to Brian Darling, a Heritage Foundation official, interns like Plummer spent a lot of their time “dragging around food for meetings and making copies.” [Chicago Tribune, 2/13/10; State Journal-Register, 2/11/10]
Plummer Refused to Release Tax Returns: In 2010, Sun-Times columnist Carol Marin noted that Plummer “seemed irritated when pressed about his refusal to release his income tax returns.” Plummer told the editorial board he complied with Illinois law by filing a “Statement of Economic Interests.” Marin disagreed and wrote: “leadership means doing more than the minimum required.” [Chicago Sun-Times, 10/6/10]
Again, Plummer Refused to Release His Tax Returns: “Jason Plummer is standing by his policy against releasing his personal tax returns.” [St. Louis Post Dispatch, 2/23/12]
And Again, Plummer Refused to Release His Tax Returns. In a March 2012, the Plummer campaign again refused releasing his tax returns. The statement claimed that “The voters in Southern Illinois are not concerned with how much Mr. Plummer paid in taxes as an individual last year.” [StLToday, 3/09/12]
Editorial: Belleville News-Democrat Wondered if Plummer Has Something to Hide. In a February 2012 editorial, the Belleville News-Democrat urged Plummer to release his taxes. “The more Plummer refuses, the more it makes you wonder if he has something to hide. […] Plummer needs to release his income tax returns.” [Belleville News-Democrat Editorial, 2/25/12]
###
Want the latest updates? Follow the DCCC on Facebook and Twitter:
