Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday defied a subpoena from House Democrats for President Trump’s tax returns, a move that’s likely to trigger a court battle for the documents.
“We are unable to provide the requested information in response to the Committee’s subpoena,” Mnuchin said in a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.).
Mnuchin reiterated in the letter that Treasury has determined that Neal’s request “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.”
Both Mnuchin and Neal have said they think the dispute will be decided in the courts. Neal told reporters hours before Mnuchin sent his letter that Democrats “will likely proceed to court as quickly as next week.”
Neal last week issued subpoenas for six years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns — 2013 to 2018 — after Mnuchin rejected the chairman’s request for the documents under a statute that states that the Treasury Secretary “shall furnish” tax returns requested by the chairpeople of congress’s tax-writing committees, so long as information associated with any specific taxpayers is reviewed in a closed session.
Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig were given a deadline of Friday at 5 p.m. to produce the tax returns sought in the subpoenas.
…….
- Discussion
-
#BREAKING: Top Trump official defies House Dem subpoena for Trump tax returns https://t.co/41mtOVQDpc pic.twitter.com/h3Ff0jUYcA
— The Hill (@thehill) May 17, 2019
It’s Mnuchin’s call to act in defiance of Congress and the law. He’s acting not because of a legal opinion but because he’s afraid of incurring Trump’s wrath. He is breaking the law because he is too weak to uphold it. https://t.co/awRMXvEjo7
— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) May 17, 2019
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.