'Journalist' who exposed Trump's tax returns issues pathetic attack against Trump Jr. and NYT for daring to round up

You were on the receiving end of 16 hours of brutal mockery over the worst piece of "journalism" ever, I imagine you'd want to lash out. You're the embarrassed butt of a national joke, you have no valid contrary arguments, and you just lent incalculable assistance to your arch-enemy's cause. Having burned yourself badly - and being a liberal, thus incapable of introspection - you're spoiling for a fight.

People like Donald Trump Jr must be dealt with!

If that sounds like you, there's a good chance your name is David Cay Johnston. He's the "journalist" (in quotes because it's MSNBC) who received President Trump's 2005 tax return "in the mail." Johnston is in a pretty unpleasant place today, but doesn't really have any actual defense. So, he's decided to take on the world. People have been casually rounding up the amount Donald Trump handed over to the federal government, and that will not stand. People like Donald Trump Jr must be dealt with!

Thank you Rachel Maddow for proving to your #Trump hating followers how successful @realDonaldTrump is & that he paid $40mm in taxes! #Taxes

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 15, 2017

Trump WH confirms my report, but fakes numbers. Trump paid $36.5m income tax, not $38 & not $40m Don Jr. claims. False WH statements. Sad!

— David Cay Johnston (@DavidCayJ) March 15, 2017

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Ooooooh! Busted. If you think he's only targeting people named Trump, take a deep breath and relax. Johnston is completely unbiased he's willing to attack rounding almost wherever he sees it.

Trump WH confirms my report, but fakes numbers. Trump paid $36.5m income tax, not $38 & not $40m Don Jr. claims. False WH statements. Sad!

— David Cay Johnston (@DavidCayJ) March 15, 2017

Amazing @nytimes gets the numbers wrong on Trump tax return. He paid 24% on $152.7 million.

— David Cay Johnston (@DavidCayJ) March 15, 2017

Whoa! Nailed again! All of this "rounding" MUST be dragged out into the light and put down like a lame horse. So, for the sake of accuracy, we should point out that Johnston's claim of Trump only paying $36.5 Million is actually rounded ...down. He's very carefully specifying that Trump paid $36.5 million in "income tax." That's technically correct, but it ignores the fact that Trump also paid $1.9 million in self-employment tax, bringing the total over $38 million. I don't know about you, but when say "I paid X-amount in income tax this year," I don't follow that up with "Oh, and I also paid self-employment tax totalling X-amount." I just rattle off the total number. Johnston is splitting hairs in the lamest, cheapest, way imaginable. We're sure Mr. Johnston doesn't care how chintzy this makes him sound. Trump is the great white buffalo, and he's on a hunt. However, just in case he still maintains a shred of self-respect, here's a penny's worth of free advice: When you've embarrassed yourself so, so, badly with a nothingburger report, following it up with parsed, petty, and ultimately meaningless attacks is probably not the best plan.