Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has just informed the chairman of the House Way and Means Committee he will not release President Donald Trump’s tax returns, despite a clear law requiring the IRS to abide by the request.
In Secretary Mnuchin’s letter, he calls the request “unprecedented,” and claims – falsely, according to legal experts – the request “presents serious constitutional questions,” and Treasury is “not authorized.”
But former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance makes clear: Mnuchin does not have a choice:
And, as The Washington Post reports, what is “unprecedented” is Mnuchin’s refusal.
“A number of legal experts have said it would be unprecedented for Mnuchin to refuse to turn over the tax returns, as the power for lawmakers to seek the returns is written explicitly in a 1924 law,” The Post notes.
Here’s Mnuchin’s letter: