By Jon Schuppe
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The sniping between former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand got even nastier on Wednesday, with the rivals accusing each other of hiding crucial information by keeping their past incomes secret.
The dueling came in the form of statements issued by Ford's spokesman and Gillibrand’s campaign staff.
Ford, who said he will make a decision this week about running against Gillibrand, called the senator an “unelected hypocrite” for failing to disclose her tax records dating back to her time as a “tobacco lawyer.” He said that as a congressman, he had released his returns prior to his election as a public official and she should do the same.
Gillibrand said Ford needed to come clean about the salary he earned as a Merrill Lynch vice chairman living in Tennessee, including any bonuses that may have come as a result of federal bailout money. She suggested that he had skirted New York income taxes.
“We know Vice Chairman Ford likes to dodge questions when he is in New York,” a Gillibrand statement said. “Does he dodge our tax laws too?”
Ford, who moved to New York last year, is mulling a primary run against Gillibrand, who was appointed last year to the Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
