The House Ways and Means Committee is working to obtain multiple years of President Donald Trump’s tax returns and will “take all necessary steps,” including litigation, to do so, according to an NBC News exclusive report.
“Every day the American people and Congress learn more about President Trump’s improprieties, from conflicts of interest to influence peddling, potential tax evasion and violations of the Constitution — all roads leading back to President Trump’s finances,” Ashley Etienne, spokeswoman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said, explaining the reasons that “give the House legitimate legislative, oversight and legal reasons to review the President’s tax returns.”
The Ways and Means Committee is the only one that has authority to directly request the President’s tax returns, but Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) “has also contacted the chairs of several other House investigative committees, including Oversight and Government Reform, Financial Services, Intelligence and Judiciary, asking them to provide detailed arguments for why they need the president’s tax returns to conduct their probes.”
On Wednesday in an open hearing watch by many Americans Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) specifically asked Michael Cohen if the House should be looking at Trump’s taxes. He said yes.
“Her clear and purposeful line of questioning, which appeared to lay the groundwork for the committee to subpoena the president’s tax returns while capturing the names of those in Trump’s inner circle who may know details of his financials, was widely praised,” Mother Jones reported.
There is one problem Democrats may need the courts to resolve.
“Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, whose department has authority over the IRS, will decide whether or not to grant the request,” NBC notes.
Image: A House Ways and Means subcommittee hearing on Trump’s taxes. Screenshot via YouTube.
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