Posted on 06/15/2019 11:46:34 AM PDT by bitt
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin did not violate the law by refusing to provide President Donald Trump’s tax returns to Congress because the confidentiality of returns is protected under the law, the Justice Department said in a legal opinion released on Friday.
Federal law “protecting confidentiality of tax returns prohibited the Department of the Treasury from complying with a request by the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee for the president’s tax returns,” a department official said in the opinion provided to the Treasury Department.
The memorandum from Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel, who heads the Office of Legal Counsel, supports the position already taken by the Treasury Department. It is likely to draw fire from Democrats in Congress who have argued the legal reasoning is misguided.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal had issued a subpoena demanding the administration turn over six years of Trump’s returns. He has said he is likely to try to enforce the subpoena by going to court.
The administration has been refusing to cooperate with a number of congressional probes of Trump, his family and his presidency, with the fight over his tax returns just one example.
“While the Executive Branch should accord due deference and respect to congressional requests, Treasury was not obliged to accept the committee’s stated purpose without question, and based on all the facts and circumstances, we agreed that the committee lacked a legitimate legislative purpose for its request,” Engel wrote.
“This is a pretty aggressive argument from DOJ, basically saying that Congress is lying about its purpose for wanting the president’s tax returns and that as a result, the IRS need not provide them even though the statute doesn’t require Congress to have *any* reason,” USA Today reporter Brad Heath Said.
(Excerpt) Read more at thefederalistpapers.org ...
p
also
https://thefederalistpapers.org/opinion/pelosi-tantrum-barr-accuses-dems-spying-trump
Pelosi Has Tantrum After Barr Accuses Dems Of Spying On Trump
Perhaps Congress will re-phrase: "We're just desperately seeking something -- anything! -- we can use to impeach this legally and properly elected president."
Business as usual for the lawless “Death to America” party,
And their Corrupt Coup Media.
Next, Dems will shop and get a friendly Judge when this goes to court.
Damned right. I's a political fishing expedition and a blatant violation of the constitution.
“Next, Dems will shop and get a friendly Judge when this goes to court.”
Yeah unlike the spineless Repubs they’ll put teeth to the subpoena and force the Trump administration to comply with the subpoena or face contempt of court. Anything to leverage an offence for their coup.
Barr must be “Court Confident”.
AND school transcripts AND medical records and, most importantly, ALL THE SETTLED SEXUAL HARASSMENT SUIT INFORMATION THAT WE PAID TO SETTLE.
Imagine. Trump has one ally with definitive CLOUT, in all of DC— ie., Attorney General Barr.
Where is the Senate peeping out any support for the administration?
I believe the DOJ over rides any judicial rulings the DOJ is the TOP DOG of justice!!! I guess they could drag it all the way to the SCOTUS but they will LOSE taxes are confidential PERIOD!!!
Then we will consider the possibility of releasing Presidential tax returns for everyone who has ever occupied that office.
As you say...
The odds that they don’t ALREADY have Trump’s taxes are pretty much zero. There are “resistance” folks throughout the IRS who know they will be protected as Lois Lerner was.
I do like the way you think...
> I believe the DOJ over rides any judicial rulings
No it doesn’t. If Holder or Lynch had had that power, we’d be discussing this in a concentration camp.
It’s none of Congress’ f...ing business.
We need to take the house from these filthy partisan jackasses. Anyone who tries to use the law to advance their dirty politics is beneath contempt.
“I’m the President’s wingman”. Quite by Eric Holder, when Obama was implementing transformational policies, stretching the limits of executive power.
How soon they forget.
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