Hacker Zine Says It Will Pay $10,000 For Trump's Tax Returns

A lot of people want to see Donald Trump's tax returns. Especially in light of links between his campaign and Russian officials, what are his potential conflicts of interest while running for presidency?

Now, infamous hacker zine 2600 says it will pay a hefty bounty for the documents.

On Twitter, 2600 said, "We are offering $10K for 1st access to [Donald Trump's] tax return." The tweet suggests potential submitters can use PGP encryption to send the files and that the source's identity will be protected.

We are offering $10K for 1st access to @realDonaldTrump's tax return. Identity protected, PGP key at https://t.co/oU079zJ4YV trump@2600.com
— 2600 Magazine (@2600) September 28, 2016

"This is a guy who has not released his tax returns, despite every presidential candidate having done that over the past however many decades, and somehow that's just being swept under the rug," 2600's editor, who goes by the name Emmanuel Goldstein, said during the magazine's Off the Hook radio show on Wednesday.

"Guccifer 3.0, if you're out there, this is what we need: We need somebody to get in and get these returns," he added.

2600 stretches way back to the 1980s and phreaking culture, where hackers would break into telecommunications systems. The magazine runs technical articles, essays, and has also published a detailed operational security guide from dark web criminal Nachash, who co-administered personal data dumping site Doxbin. The group also runs the hacking conference Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE).

As for the bounty, Trump's recent comments about overweight hackers apparently spurred it. During the presidential debate earlier this week, Trump said that the Democratic National Committee hack might have been carried out by "somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds."

"That derogatory 400lb hacker remark was our tipping point BTW," 2600 said in a follow-up tweet.

(That derogatory 400 lb hacker remark was our tipping point BTW)
— 2600 Magazine (@2600) September 28, 2016

The zine said it would also allow others to add to the Trump bounty pool.

"This could easily become $100k or more. We can pay in dollars, bitcoin… or rubles."

It's unclear whether the offer is entirely sincere, or whether someone will try to claim the bounty. But maybe hacking isn't even required.

"Incidentally, we will also pay [Donald Trump] $10K if he gives us his tax return first. Or anyone in his campaign or family. Fair is fair," 2600 added.

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