#EndorseThis: Sanders’ Campaign Manager Turns Tax Return Question On Chris Matthews

When Chris Matthews brought up Bernie Sanders’ refusal to disclose his tax returns on Monday night’s Hardball, the host never imagined it would get so personal.

His guest was Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, who was clearly tired of being hounded on the issue. In a brilliantly awkward turn of events, Weaver retorted that Matthews was in no position to criticize Sanders, based on his own failure to share tax information during his wife’s campaign.

“Oh, here we go,” Matthews says under his breath, as Weaver begins the rebuttal.

Weaver was referring to Kathleen Matthews, who earlier this year ran for the House of Representatives in Maryland’s 8^th congressional district. Despite receiving the endorsement of The Washington Post and help from some of Hillary Clinton’s top donors, she lost to State Senator Jamie Raskin in the Democratic primary.

Sanders’ tax returns have become a point of controversy this election cycle, given that a pillar of his campaign is his crusade for financial integrity. While rival Hillary Clinton has released eight year’s worth of tax returns on her website, and many more years in previous elections, Bernie Sanders has been filibustering the matter for months now, at one point even falsely claiming that his records were available to the public.

During the interview, Matthews repeatedly responded with the excuse that it was an unfair question, as he had no involvement in his wife’s campaign. Weaver wrapped up the interview with the quip, “This is Hardball, Chris.”

Matthews thanked his guests as the show wrapped up — all of them, of course, except Bernie Sanders campaign manager, Jeff Weaver.

Photo and Video: Crooks & Liars, MSNBC