Posted on 04/04/2019 11:09:32 AM PDT by Kaslin
We knew this was coming because some Democrats ran on this as a promise during the midterms. The chair of the House Ways and Means Committee has issued a formal request for six years worth of tax returns from President Trump, covering both his personal taxes and those of several of his businesses. While legal authority exists for the committee to do this, it’s unusual in the extreme.
A House committee chairman has formally requested the IRS provide six years of President Donald Trump’s personal and business tax returns as Democrats try to shed light on his complex financial dealings and potential conflicts of interest.
The request Wednesday by Massachusetts Rep. Richard Neal, who heads the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, is the first such demand for a sitting president’s tax information in 45 years. The unprecedented move is likely to set off a huge legal battle between Democrats controlling the House and the Trump administration.
The law in question (Title 26, Chapter 61) was passed during the Teapot Dome scandal back in the twenties when Congress was investigating the Harding administration. It’s part of a broader set of rules which protect the privacy of individual citizens with respect to all of the personal information available in their tax returns. The specific provision being invoked here does allow the chairman of Ways and Means, the Senate Finance Committee or the Joint Committee on Taxation to request individual returns as part of an investigation. But it also goes on to say in the same paragraph that such a requested return can only be examined “when sitting in closed executive session unless such taxpayer otherwise consents in writing to such disclosure.”
In other words, if Richard Neal does manage to have Trump’s tax returns delivered to him and any of that information makes its way out into open hearings or to the press, he will have committed a felony. There’s also the question of the validity of a request such as this. In general terms, you only conduct an investigation when there has been a crime committed and you have reasonable cause to believe that such a disclosure would be fruitful in resolving the matter.
What specific crime took place that might be resolved by viewing Donald Trump’s tax returns? The idea of proving some sort of conflict of interest is a fascinating one, because it would essentially set a precedent saying that anyone with any business interests should be barred from running for the presidency. After all, every decision the White House makes could arguably impact any business in the country in some way or another. The Democrats would also apparently like to claim that if anyone from a foreign country spends the night at a Trump hotel they’ve committed some sort of “collusion.”
The more you read through the details of this request, the more it begins to look like this is yet another fishing expedition. But the Democrats in the House are playing with fire on this one. They would obviously like to find some dirt in Trump’s tax returns and air it out in the media to gain an advantage in the next elections. But if they do, the Justice Department might have quite a few things to say about that.
Hi.
They can request until the cows come home, but the President has the authority to seal the records by executive order.
Then the case will likely go to SCOTUS.
5.56mm
Yep, if anything damaging were out there it would have already leaked, because Democrats can be trusted to be untrustworthy.
Plus, the IRS is literally up his butt 24/7 and he has teams of accountants to handle this stuff. The only thing the Dems are accomplishing here is to show the world that their priority is destroying opponents rather than doing anything positive.
A “necessary and proper” law can not be used in a manner that would violate the Constitution.
The Congressional Democratic motives are purely partisan political and highly improper.
And don’t forget Amendment IV:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated”
Trump’s lawyers need to inform the Commissioner of the IRS to ignore the improper and unconstitutional ‘crat request and get a court injunction ASAP.
I think that would be a massive error. “Abuse of power” would be the first article of impeachment. That said, Trump’s stayed reason for not wanting to turn them over is lame. He should denounce it as a fishing expedition
They do have the law on their side. It is a way for sleazy Congress to protect itself at the public’s interest. If I were Trump I would make it clear to the committee chairman that if any are leaked they will be prosecuted by the AG. They can see the returns, they just can’t leak them or show anyone else as I understand the law.
This is a joke. Anyone with Trump’s level of wealth has a small army of accountants and lawyers to deal with his taxes and is pretty much constantly under audit by the IRS.
I think that the USSC will see this law as being unconstitutional. It has never been tested and it would violate the 4th, 5th and 14th amendment. If they believe a crime has been committed they can refer it to the DOJ. If they want it for legislative purposes they will need to show that the detailed, (verses a synopsis), tax return is necessary for creating laws. I can see the USSC saying that the IRS can provide a summary, without $ amounts, which deals with specific laws they feel may need amending or new laws that may need to be proposed/passed but not the detailed, line by line tax return.
Tell them that as soon as the entire Congress (both sides of both Houses) submits their own returns for the same period, he will consider allowing it....
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