The New York Times has found some of Trump's tax records! No, they aren't the ones we want to see, but they certainly contradict his claim that he is the most successful, richest, and most wonderful real estate developer in the world.

The Times has the tax transcripts from his 1985 to 1994 tax returns, and can confirm that Donald Trump was bleeding cash, year after year after year.

According to the report, "in 1985 Mr. Trump reported losses of $46.1 million from his core businesses — largely casinos, hotels and retail space in apartment buildings. They continued to lose money every year, totaling $1.17 billion in losses for the decade."

$1.17 billion, while he was living the high life, publishing his "Art of the Deal" book and more. Must be nice to bleed money like that and still live in the gilded tower, eh?

"In fact, year after year, Mr. Trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer," The Times reports. "His core business losses in 1990 and 1991 — more than $250 million each year — were more than double those of the nearest taxpayers in the I.R.S. information for those years."

So he can at least lay claim to something. He can brag that he was the Biggest Loser.

This report begs the question: How did he go from being cash-poor in 1994 to surviving the collapse of the housing market to rolling in enough cash to buy properties in cash? Was he laundering money for the Russians?

This just makes it that much more important that we get the tax returns for the rest of the years. The one thing these returns prove is that there is an urgency to following the money.

You can read the full Times report here. It's long and detailed but the bottom line is that he's a con man and a grifter, as we've surmised all along.