Jack Mitnick was Donald Trump's accountant from 1964 to 1996.
Donald Trump had no part in preparing his controversial 1995 tax returns that legally allowed him to avoid paying federal taxes for 18 years, the accountant who prepared the taxes told Inside Edition.
“None whatsoever,” Jack Mitnick, 80, replied when asked how involved Trump was in his tax preparations.
Read: Donald Trump May Have Avoided Paying Federal Income Tax for 18 Years: Report
The Florida-based retiree verified the authenticity of the documents that show Trump declared a loss of more than $915 million and could have legally avoided paying federal taxes for 18 years.
“The face pages look authentic,” Mitnick said.
But Trump on Monday said he used the tax laws to his benefit, calling his maneuvering the law to his favor “brilliant.”
“I understand the tax laws better than almost anyone, which is why I'm the one who can truly fix them,” Trump said during a Colorado rally. "I have brilliantly used those laws.”
“I’m the one who did all the work,” said Mitnick, who first met Trump in 1964 when he was working as the accountant of his father, Fred Trump.
The bombshell tax returns were leaked anonymously to the New York Times, which published the documents Saturday night.
Read: Could Donald Trump Really Have Avoided Paying Federal Taxes For 18 Years?
The newspaper called to attention the first two numbers of the loss of “-915,729,293,” which looked different than the rest.
Mitnick explained the discrepancy.
“Very simple, you couldn't print that large a number,” he said. “The numbers had to be put in with a typewriter.”
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