In what is sure to raise the ire of the GOP nominee, House Speaker Paul Ryan has stepped up to say that Donald Trump should release his tax returns. Donald Trump has repeatedly said he cannot release his tax returns because he is under an IRS audit. Legal experts have disagreed whether or not Trump is “allowed” to release them, though quite a few have said even if he was allowed to, it wouldn’t be a good idea because of the audit.

Still, Ryan is of the opinion that if he released his returns in 2012, Trump should release his now:

“I released mine. I think he should release his,” Mr. Ryan, the 2012 GOP vice-presidential nominee, told reporters Thursday, but didn’t press Mr. Trump on the timing.

“I know he is under an audit and he has got an opinion about when to release those. I will defer to him on that,” Mr. Ryan said.

Mr. Trump is now the only major-party candidate since 1976 not to release his tax returns. He has said he would release those returns after an Internal Revenue Service audit is complete. That is a process he and his tax lawyers can slow; they also know how likely it is that the audit will conclude before the election.

Whether or not Trump succumbs to pressure to release his tax returns remains to be seen. Donald Trump Jr. kind of gave away why when he said this:

When asked why his father has not released his tax returns as presidential candidates have traditionally done, Trump Jr. said, “Because he’s got a 12,000-page tax return that would create … financial auditors out of every person in the country asking questions that would detract from (his father’s) main message.”

Rich guys use every tax loophole known to man to reduce their overall tax burden. There’s nothing wrong with it. Just what happens. That said, Trump will not want to talk about his tax returns for weeks so he is trying to run out the clock.