House Democrats have formally demanded that the Internal Revenue Service turn over six years of Donald Trump’s tax returns, an opening salvo that will surely be a monumental battle between Democrats and the Trump administration that will likely wind up in the courts.
It was good timing on behalf of the Dems. What better way to help their base to forget about the Mueller witch hunt than to create another?
Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal of Massachusetts sent a letter to Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Charles Rettig, citing in part Congress’s oversight responsibility to review the president’s business activities before and during his first term.
He said he wanted the returns by next Wednesday, but that deadline was expected to be negotiable. Trump told reporters he would refuse the request. The decision, however, is up to the Treasury Department.
Neal cast his letter as a legislative oversight duty to ensure the IRS was doing its routine function of auditing every sitting president and vice president’s return, and not as part of Democrats’ broad investigations of Trump’s personal and business finances.
“We must obtain President Trump’s tax returns and review whether the IRS is carrying out its responsibilities,” Neal’s letter said. “The committee has a duty to examine whether congressional action may be needed to require such audits, and to oversee that they are conducted properly.”
Read More: A Trump Tax Return Standoff Would Be ‘Uncharted Territory’
Trump said at the White House that his returns are under audit and that he doesn’t intend to turn anything over until that is finished. “Until such time as I’m not under audit I would not be inclined to do it,” he told reporters. No law prevents a taxpayer from releasing returns that are under audit.
Neal is preparing for the request to become a protracted legal battle. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin could slow-walk the request, which would likely lead the Democrats to sue. If the request ends up in the courts, the issue could likely linger unresolved until after the 2020 presidential election.
President Trump reacted to the demand.
UPDATE 4/11:
The Treasury Dept. said Wednesday evening that it would not immediately comply with the demand from the House to turn over President Trump’s tax returns.
Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, said in a letter to Representative Richard E. Neal, the Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, that the Treasury Department’s lawyers needed more time to assess the lawfulness of the request and expressed concern that it would be a violation of taxpayer privacy.
Mr. Mnuchin did not say how much time the review would take but conveyed concerns about whether Congress has authority to review the records.
“The committee’s request raises serious issues concerning the constitutional investigative authority, the legitimacy of the asserted legislative purpose and the constitutional rights of American citizens,” Mr. Mnuchin wrote. “The legal implications of this request could affect protections for all Americans against politically motivated disclosures of tax information, regardless of which party is in power.”
Will Pelosi engage in a protracted fight to obtain Trump’s tax returns? To do so would only help our President get reelected as voters would surely equate it with the years-long witch hunt carried out by Mueller and his band of liberals.
Shame on you Pelosiyou are an enemy of USA
Let her turn over her records too! Even better let them all turn their records over for the public to see!!
demand this you fucking parasite