Pence: Trump hasn't broken promise to release tax returns

Donald Trump’s tax returns became a fiery point of contention between vice presidential nominees Tim Kaine and Mike Pence in their first and only debate.

"Donald Trump started this campaign in 2014, and he said, ‘If I run for president, I will absolutely release my taxes,’ " Kaine charged. "He's broken his first — "

"And he will," Pence interjected.

"He's broken his first promise," Kaine insisted.

"He hasn't broken his promise," Pence said. "Look, Donald Trump has filed over 100 pages of financial disclosure, which is what the law requires. The American people can review that. And he's going -- senator, he's going to release his tax returns when the audit is over."

"Richard Nixon released tax returns when he was under audit," Kaine countered accurately, before the moderator directed the discussion to Social Security.

Kaine was referencing a 2014 interview Trump did with Irish TV. While he didn't use those exact words, Kaine's quote is largely accurate. That was before Trump was actually running for president.

But Trump has said he would release his tax returns multiple times since annoucning his candidacy as well.

"Will you release any of your tax returns for the public to scrutinize?" NBC’s Chuck Todd asked Trump in January 2016.

"Well, we're working on that now. I have very big returns, as you know, and I have everything all approved and very beautiful and we'll be working that over in the next period of time, Chuck. Absolutely," Trump replied.

A few weeks later, Trump told the Today Show in February 2016 that he’ll release his tax returns "probably over the next few months."

Since those comments, Trump has repeated the promise but with conditions. Recently, he’s said he would release them once Clinton releases all of her emails. And as Pence mentioned, Trump has said repeatedly he has yet to do so because an ongoing IRS audit. (He’s also suggested he probably won't before election day.)

According to his tax attorneys, Trump has been "under continuous examination by the Internal Revenue Service since 2002." But he’s also promised to release his tax returns without this condition and, presumably, while under audit in 2011, 2014 and 2015.

As Buzzfeed reported, Trump suggested he’d "love" to release his tax returns in 2011, when he was flirting with a presidential bid and questioning Barack Obama’s birthplace.

"Maybe I’m going to do the tax returns when Obama does his birth certificate," Trump said in an April 18, 2011, interview with ABC. "I may tie my tax returns, I’d love to give my tax returns, I may tie my tax returns into Obama’s birth certificate."