National Review/Jack Crowe: House Dems Sue Treasury Department for Trump’s Tax Returns

National Review

Jul. 2, 2019  

News
White House   
House Dems Sue Treasury Department for Trump’s Tax Returns
By Jack Crowe   

July 2, 2019 11:53 AM



President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House, June 30, 2019. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters)

House Democrats filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Trump administration to compel the release of the president’s tax returns.

Representative Richard Neal (D., Mass.), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, filed the lawsuit against the IRS and the Treasury Department in a final attempt to obtain tax returns that his panel has now demanded for months.

The move is sure to exacerbate ongoing tensions between congressional Democrats and the various administration officials who have flatly refused to comply with their oversight requests for documents and witness testimony.

Democrats have long demanded Trump’s tax returns, citing a 1924 law that grants lawmakers the authority to review any American’s income-tax return. The administration and its allies, meanwhile, have adopted a more narrow view of congressional oversight, insisting that lawmakers lack a legitimate legislative purpose for requesting the documents because their actual motivation is to embarrass a political opponent.

Trump broke with decades of tradition by refusing to publish his tax returns during the 2016 campaign — a breach of protocol he justified by suggesting an ongoing audit precluded him from releasing the documents.

Neal first demanded six years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns from 2013 to 2018 in a series of letters sent to the administration in April. Neal then subpoenaed Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin and IRS commissioner Charles Rettig demanding the documents, which he claimed he needed access to in order to investigate possible corruption related to Trump’s ongoing ownership stake in Mar-a-Lago and other properties that may have benefited from his elevation to the presidency.

The most recent lawsuit adds to a plethora of legal actions that congressional Democrats have resorted to in response to the administration’s stonewalling.
Stay Updated with NR Daily

NR's afternoon roundup of the day's best commentary & must-read analysis.

In two similar cases the administration has attempted to block the House Oversight Committee, the House Intelligence Committee, and the House Financial Services Committee from accessing the president’s bank records and those of his businesses. Trial-level judges have thus far ruled in favor of lawmakers, finding that they are entitled to review records that are clearly pertinent to their investigative duties.

“There can be no doubt as to the power of Congress, by itself or through its committees, to investigate matters,” federal judge Edgardo Ramos said at a court hearing in May. “Without the power to investigate . . . Congress could be seriously handicapped in its efforts to exercise its constitutional function wisely and effectively.”

The Trump administration is in the process of appealing both court decisions.

Jack Crowe is a news writer at National Review Online. @JackRCrowe
More in White House   
The Buttigieg Illusion
What a Border Crisis Looks Like
Inching Back toward the Rule of Law
Making Sense of the Iran Chaos
Recommended Articles
Most Popular
Politics & Policy   
The Disciplinary Corporation
By Kevin D. Williamson
U.S.   
The Lie of Portland’s Antifa
By Douglas Murray
Video
Culture with Kat Timpf: 16-Year-Old Girl Shouldn’t Face Child-Porn Charges
Immigration   
Last Century’s Absurd Immigration Debate
By George Will
Immigration   
The Party of Illegal Immigration
By The Editors
Politics & Policy   
The Democrats Have No Answer for Mitch McConnell. Good.
By David French
World   
For Regime Change in Iran
By Andrew C. McCarthy
Politics & Policy   
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy Abandons the ‘Millionaires Tax’
By John Hirschauer
Elections   
Our Presidential Nomination Process Is Nuts
By Jay Cost
Elections   
Joe Biden and the Great Awokening
By Matthew Continetti

    ...

© 2019 National Review

    Donate
    Subscribe

    Sections
        The Corner
        Bench Memos
        The Morning Jolt
        The G-File
        News
        Books, Arts & Manners
        All Articles
        All Authors
        Podcasts
        Photos
        Games
        Videos

    Topics
        Politics & Policy
        Culture
        White House
        Film & TV
        PC Culture
        U.S.
        World
        Immigration
        Economy & Business
        Elections

    Magazine
        Latest Issue
        Archive
        Subscribe
        Gve NR as a Gift
        Customer Care
        NRPLUS
        Magazine FAQ
        NRPLUS FAQ

    About
        Frequently Asked Questions
        The Masthead
        Contact Us
        Careers
        Privacy Policy
        Terms of Service
        NR Institute

    More
        Advertise
        Donate
        Search
        E-mails & Alerts

Newsletters
Morning Jolt (M-F)
NR Daily (M-Sa)
Breaking News (M-Su)

© 2019 National Review