Romney to Release 2010 Tax Returns This Week

Published January 22, 2012 | FoxNews.com

After a disappointing second-place showing behind Newt Gingrich in the South Carolina Republican presidential primary, Mitt Romney said Sunday that he will release his 2010 tax returns this week so that he can put behind him an issue that he acknowledged is causing a big distraction for his campaign.

"I'm going to make it very clear to you right now, Chris, that I will release my tax returns for 2010, which is the last returns that were complete. I will do that on Tuesday of this week. I will also release at the same time an estimate for 2011 tax returns," Romney told "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace.

As Romney, Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul move on from South Carolina to compete in Florida, whose GOP primary is Jan. 31, and Nevada after that, on Feb. 4, the former Massachusetts governor admitted "it was not a great week for me."

Distracted by the tax return question and the Iowa GOP certifying Santorum as the winner rather than Romney, who was originally declared the victor in the first-in-the-nation caucuses, Romney said he plans to look more closely at the question of Gingrich's ability to be a leader.

"I don't think that the people of this country are going to choose as the next president of the United States a person who spent 40 years in Washington as a congressman and a lobbyist," he said.