House Ways and Means Committee chairman Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) said that he is talking to counsel after the White House refused to turn over Trump’s tax returns.
The White House refuses to turn over Trump’s tax returns
As the AP reported, Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin stuck to his bogus reason for not handing over Trump’s tax returns:
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has made it official: The administration won’t be turning President Donald Trump’s tax returns over to the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. Mnuchin tells Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal in a Monday letter that the committee’s request “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.”
Rep. Neal responded in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, “Today, Secretary Mnuchin notified me that the IRS will not provide the documents I requested under Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code. I will consult with counsel and determine the appropriate response.”
Mnuchin is violating the law
Section 6103 of the tax code says nothing about legitimate legislative purpose, “[u]pon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives . . . the Secretary shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request.”
There is no out for the White House in the law, so Mnuchin and Trump made one up.
It is not up to Donald Trump or Steve Mnuchin to decide if Trump’s tax returns are turned over. The law states that the IRS must turn them over.
Mnuchin is stalling as part of Trump’s plan to delay the release of his tax returns until after the 2020 election. Democrats are going to sue Mnuchin and they are going to win.
Trump does not have the power to say no to congressional oversight. He is not a king, and Democrats are not afraid to go to court to knock the clown prince off of his imaginary throne.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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