Posted on 11/25/2019 6:34:58 AM PST by karpov
The U.S. Supreme Court last week blocked a House committee’s subpoena for eight years’ worth of President Trump’s tax returns. The committee will press the matter in further litigation. But the logic that supports the subpoena undercuts House Democratic efforts to impeach Mr. Trump for asking Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden. In both cases, the use of official power to get dirt on a political rival is consistent with a broader, and valid, official purpose.
House ethics rules explicitly prohibit using official resources to oppose a presidential candidate. Yet last April the Oversight and Government Reform Committee subpoenaed an accounting firm for the Trump tax records. The demand mirrored one by the House Ways and Means Committee, seeking six years of returns from the Internal Revenue Service. Obtaining these returns was a campaign issue for Democrats in 2016.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers sought to block the subpoenas as an abuse of power. They argued the claimed legislative purpose was pretextual, and the true motive was to “turn up something that Democrats can use as a political tool against the President now and in the 2020 election.”
In response to the Ways and Means subpoena, the Justice Department prepared a compelling 33-page memo that argued: “No one could reasonably believe that the Committee seeks six years of President Trump’s tax returns because of a newly discovered interest in legislating on the presidential-audit process.” Democrats argued it doesn’t matter as long as there’s a fig leaf of official purpose. Chairman Richard Neal insisted the administration may not “question or second guess the motivations of the Committee . . . regarding its need for the requested . . . information.”
Oversight Committee Democrats echoed the point in federal court
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Isn’t there a difference between fishing for evidence and investigating a questionable activity?
Biden is a good example of why tax returns of a politician are worthless
For 40 years he showed, on paper, that he lived such a meager lifestyle.
All the while he was enriching his family with millions of taxpayer $$$ and likely squirrelling a bunch away for himself that can’t be traced
America’s robed mullahs, a co-equal branch of government, will do what is right for us. Eh, John Roberts?
Check$ and Balance$ BUMP!
That is Trump whole point of never releasing his tax returns. The politicians tax returns are polished and massaged to look great to the public, they have only salaries to declare, government salaries. Trumps tax returns are on multiple business ventures, a ton of Schedule E filings for rental income, super intricate, super complicated its 5 feet tall when printed on paper.
“Isn’t there a difference between fishing for evidence and investigating a questionable activity?”
No. Not when the leftists are in charge. They are currently above the law.
BS
DJT's taxes are prepared under law and reviewed by the IRS every year.
Biden's Ukrainian stunts were done under the table, and directly enriched him and his son. They were against US policies and against the laws of Ukraine and the US.
The difference is that between business and corruption.
So what is the litigation path after the Supreme Court has denied you?
Idiot fraud WSJ writer is yet another reason why nobody is reading the established rags any longer.
WSJ is a Murdoch/News Corp rag - i.e. establishment/globalist/Wall St./Never-Trump central.
Their collapsing revenues are karma.
They can’t be the same because in one case the media try to get trumps taxes but in the other case the media has no interest in biden corruption so obviously they cannot be the same.
Biden is a good example of why tax returns of a politician are worthless
For 40 years he showed, on paper, that he lived such a meager lifestyle.
All the while he was enriching his family with millions of taxpayer $$$ and likely squirrelling a bunch away for himself that can’t be traced”””””
Biden & others were mentored by Dirty Harry Reid. He is the expert at such activity.
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