Akin Demands McCaskill Release Tax Returns

Missouri Rep. Todd Akin on Wednesday demanded that Sen. Claire McCaskill release the tax returns for her and her husband for the years since she was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006.

But a spokesman for the embattled Republican said he would release his returns only after Democrat McCaskill – and her husband, Joe Shepard – released theirs first, the Kansas City Star reports.

For her part, McCaskill began airing three advertisements sharply criticizing Akin's stance on emergency birth control for victims of rape and incest, the Star reports.

Akin said in August that the female body could avoid pregnancy after "legitimate rape." He has since apologized and retracted the statement.

In recent weeks, Akin has charged that several businesses owned by Shepard have received federal subsidies, including those from legislation backed by McCaskill.

The Democrat, however, has said that revenue from those payments amounted to insignificant income for her.

The tax returns would substantiate McCaskill’s claim, Akin said.

"If she claims that she didn't benefit from it, she needs to prove it," he said in a statement, the Star reports.