WASHINGTON (AP) — A top House Democrat has issued subpoenas for six years of President Donald Trump’s tax returns, giving Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig a deadline of next Friday to deliver them.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal issued the subpoenas Friday, days after Mnuchin refused to comply with demands to turn over Trump's returns. Mnuchin told the panel he wouldn't provide Trump's tax records because the panel's request "lacks a legitimate legislative purpose," as Supreme Court precedent requires.

Neal is reminding the two Trump appointees in a Friday letter that federal law states that the IRS “shall furnish” the tax returns of any individual upon the request of the chairmen of Congress’ tax-writing committees. He says Ways and Means “has never been denied” a request. </s> July 2 (UPI) -- The House Ways and Means Committee sued the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service Tuesday to get President Donald Trump's federal tax returns.

The panel, led by Democrats, had asked for more than six years of Trump's personal and business tax returns, going as far as issuing subpoenas for the records. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS head Charles Rettig rebuffed the request.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., claiming that Mnuchin, Rettig and their departments "have now - for what the committee believes is the first time ever - denied a Section 6103(f) request in order to shield President Trump's tax return information from Congressional scrutiny."

Democrats have said the federal tax code gives Congress the right to receive the records on request.

"In refusing to comply with the statute, defendants have mounted an extraordinary attack on the authority of Congress to obtain information needed to conduct oversight of Treasury, the IRS, and the tax laws on behalf of the American people who participate in the nation's voluntary tax system," the suit said.

In a letter to Ways and Means chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., in May, Mnuchin said Democrats were "weaponizing" the IRS to simply attack Trump politically and receiving his tax returns had no value.

"In reliance on the advice of the Department of Justice, we have determined that the committee's request lacks a legitimate legislative purpose, and ... the department is therefore not authorized to disclose the requested returns and return information," Mnuchin said in the letter. </s> Law360 (July 2, 2019, 12:06 PM EDT) -- The House’s tax committee sued the U.S. Department of the Treasury in federal court for President Donald Trump’s tax return information on Tuesday, setting in motion a legal battle that will likely end at the U.S. Supreme Court. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal made the request for the president's tax information under Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code. (AP) The House Ways and Means Committee sued Treasury and Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the Internal Revenue Service and Commissioner Chuck Rettig in a Washington, D.C., federal court after they rejected multiple requests and a subpoena for six years’ worth...

In the legal profession, information is the key to success. You have to know what’s happening with clients, competitors, practice areas, and industries. Law360 provides the intelligence you need to remain an expert and beat the competition.
• Access to case data within articles (numbers, filings, courts, nature of suit, and more.)
• Access to attached documents such as briefs, petitions, complaints, decisions, motions, etc.
• Create custom alerts for specific article and case topics and so much more!

TRY LAW360 FREE FOR SEVEN DAYS </s> WASHINGTON — House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., on Friday took the next step in his battle to obtain President Donald Trump’s tax returns, issuing subpoenas for the records to the Treasury Department and IRS.

In a statement, Neal said that he decided to issue the subpoenas to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig after the administration denied his initial request on April 3.

“After reviewing the options available to me, and upon the advice of counsel, I issued subpoenas today to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner of the IRS for six years of personal and business returns,” Neal said.

“While I do not take this step lightly, I believe this action gives us the best opportunity to succeed and obtain the requested material. I sincerely hope that the Treasury Department will furnish the requested material in the next week so the committee can quickly begin its work,” he added.

Anticipating Neal’s move Friday, Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, ranking member on Ways and Means, wrote to him earlier in the day, pleading with him not to move forward with subpoenas, which Brady called a “compulsory process.”

“Such actions would be an abuse of the committee’s oversight powers and further examples of the Democrat majority’s coordinated attempt to weaponize the tax code and use Congress’s legitimate oversight authority for political gain,” said Brady, who added that Neal’s request is merely meant “to try to embarrass a political enemy.”

Neal’s decision Friday to issue the subpoenas comes after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday formally rejected his request for the tax returns, failing for the third time to meet a congressional deadline to turn over the documents. Mnuchin told Neal in a letter that the request for the president's tax returns “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.”

It is considered highly unlikely that top administration officials will comply with the subpoenas, as White House officials have firmly said that Trump’s tax returns will not be released.

Some House Democrats have posed the idea of potentially holding Mnuchin in contempt, as the House Judiciary Committee this week recommended the House do to Attorney General William Barr after he failed to comply with a subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report and its underlying materials.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., suggested at her weekly press conference Thursday that House Democrats might also vote on additional contempt citations.

Under Section 6103 of the U.S. tax code, if Neal or Senate Finance Committee chair Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, or the head of the Joint Committee on Taxation formally requests a person’s tax returns, Treasury officials “shall” turn the documents over, language which leading tax analysts have said means officials must provide them. </s> The House’s tax-writing committee filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service for access to President Donald Trump’s tax returns, reported. The lawsuit, filed by the the House Ways and Means Committee in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeks to enforce a statute that gives Congress access to anyone’s tax returns. The lawsuit comes two months after the Democrat-led panel subpoenaed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS chief Charles Rettig to submit Trump’s personal and business returns for the last six years. The officials defied those May subpoenas, however, arguing the request to disclose Trump’s financial documents had no legitimate legislative purpose.

“In refusing to comply with the statute, Defendants have mounted an extraordinary attack on the authority of Congress to obtain information needed to conduct oversight of Treasury, the IRS, and the tax laws on behalf of the American people who participate in the Nation’s voluntary tax system,” the complaint states. The lawsuit also notes the committee is investigating whether the IRS has been enforcing its “self-imposed policy of annually auditing the returns of sitting presidents.” “Indeed, President Trump himself has repeatedly questioned the integrity of the process by which the IRS audits his tax returns, complaining that his returns are under ‘continuous audit’ and that the IRS’s policy of annually auditing Presidential returns is ‘extremely unfair,’” the complaint states. </s> House Democrats Sue For Trump's Tax Returns

Enlarge this image toggle caption J. Scott Applewhite/AP J. Scott Applewhite/AP

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., sued Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to obtain six years of President Trump's tax returns.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., is the latest step in a months-long battle with the Trump administration over the president's tax records. Democrats want the court to enforce a subpoena requesting the returns.

Mnuchin rejected the subpoena in May, citing guidance from the Department of Justice. At the time Mnuchin said the request lacked a "legitimate legislative purpose."

Democrats argue in the court filing that the committee has the right to access Trump's private tax information under Section 6103 of the U.S. tax code, which says, "Treasury 'shall furnish' the Committee with 'any' requested tax return information" from any U.S. citizen, including the president.

The filing states that the law was "intended to provide the Committee with unfettered access to tax return information necessary to carry out its broad mandate to oversee Treasury, the IRS, and the Nation's tax laws. "

Committee Republicans have sided with Mnuchin, calling the request baseless and dangerous. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the top Republican on Ways and Means, also said the lawsuit is motivated by partisanship and circumvents the usual committee process for requesting taxpayer information.

"The Democrats' partisan, flawed lawsuit continues their unprecedented and illegitimate pursuit to expose President Trump's private tax information," Brady said in a statement. "This is a dangerous course of action."

But many Democrats, including committee member Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., cheered the lawsuit as the next logical step in the effort to reveal details of Trump's business dealings both as a candidate and while in office.

"We are here today because Donald Trump and his enablers have sneered at our laws and avoided the thinnest accountability for their corruption," Pascrell said in a statement. "The Ways and Means Committee must file this action to stand for rule of law." </s> New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed a bill on Monday that would allow New York’s tax authority to hand over state tax returns to the U.S. Congress.

The bill would allow the state’s Department of Taxation and Finance commissioner to release state tax returns to Congress’ Ways & Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, or the Joint Committee on Taxation.

“Tax secrecy is paramount — the exception being for bonafide investigative and law enforcement purposes,” Cuomo said in a statement. “By amending the law enforcement exception in New York State tax code to include Congressional tax-related committees, this bill gives Congress the ability to fulfill its Constitutional responsibilities, strengthen our democratic system and ensure that no one is above the law.”

After Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin refused to comply with the House Ways and Means Committee’s request for President Donald Trump’s tax returns, New York’s state legislature passed the bill in an effort to mitigate Mnuchin’s stonewalling.

The House Ways and Means Committee sued Mnuchin and Internal Revenue Service chief Chuck Rettig last week for the President’s tax returns.

However, committee chair Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) is reportedly reluctant to ask the state for Trump’s tax returns because he fears jeopardizing a potential court case in the battle for Trump’s federal tax returns. </s> WASHINGTON – Democrats have officially sent a letter to the IRS demanding President Donald Trump's personal tax returns and the returns for his businesses and revocable trust, launching what is likely to lead to a legal battle between Congress and the executive branch.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal sent a letter on Wednesday to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig demanding copies of Trump's taxes from 2013 through 2018. He gave Rettig until next Wednesday to comply with the request.

Democrats have been trying to get their hands on Trump's tax returns since he flouted tradition and refused to release them during the 2016 presidential campaign. When he took office, Trump continued to keep the documents private, arguing that they were under audit. Vice President Mike Pence has released his returns.

The president, though, told reporters he was "not inclined" to allow Democrats access to his tax returns.

"We are under audit, despite what people said, and working that out — I'm always under audit, it seems, but I've been under audit for many years because the numbers are big, and I guess when you have a name, you're audited. But until such time as I'm not under audit, I would not be inclined to do it," Trump said.

The top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee blasted the request, saying Democrats were "weaponizing our nation’s tax code by targeting political foes."

'Follow the law': Treasury Secretary Mnuchin to Congress: 'We will protect the president' if tax returns are requested

Trump's tax returns: 'It's not a question of just sending a letter:' Democrats move slowly on demand for Trump's tax returns

After the request, Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, wrote a letter to Treasury Security Steven Mnuchin arguing that the request violates the law and for Mnuchin, who oversees IRS at the Treasury Department, to deny it.

"The use of the committee's authority to access and make public he tax returns of a single individual for purely political purposes would not only set a dangerous precedent, but it also undermines the core intent of the law," Brady wrote.

Since taking the majority in November, Democrats have moved cautiously on the issue and held a series of hearings to make a case for the release of the president's taxes.

Neal, D-Mass., the only member of the House who can, by law, request the president's tax returns, argued in his letter to the IRS that his request stemmed from a policy interest. He said his role in heading the committee comes with "a responsibility to ensure that the Internal Revenue Service is enforcing the laws in a fair and impartial manner."

Neal argued his request was made to investigate whether the IRS had indeed examined Trump's taxes, which he noted is required under the agency's policy.

"This practice is IRS policy and not codified in the Federal tax laws," he wrote. "It is necessary for the Committee to determine the scope of any such examination and whether it includes a review of underlying business activities required to be reported on the individual income tax return."

Along with Trump's personal taxes, Neal also demanded copies of tax returns for his trust and for his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey.

Opinion: Donald Trump, even with all his daddy's money, is the real apprentice

Last month, Mnuchin suggested he would protect Trump’s privacy if he receives a request from House Democrats for Trump’s tax returns.

“We will examine the request and we will follow the law … and we will protect the president as we would protect any taxpayer” regarding their right to privacy, Mnuchin said.

Neal is one of only three congressional officials authorized under a rarely used 1924 law to make a written request for anyone’s tax returns to the Treasury secretary. The law says the Treasury chief “shall furnish” the requested material to members of the committee for them to examine behind closed doors. But Mnuchin did not specifically say he would turn them over.

Last week, House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., also demanded access to Trump's finances and asked a tax firm for documents going back 10 years. He asked tax firm Mazars USA for copies of Trump's financial documents from 2009 to 2019 – but stopped short of copies of the president's tax returns.

In his request, Cummings asked Mazars' CEO Victor Wahba for all financial documents relating to Trump's wealth that were in the firm's possession, any audits done, all communications with Trump and those representing him, along with internal communications related to any concerns over Trump's finances.

The company was noted in documents former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen gave to the committee before his February appearance, where he offered Congress a damning portrait of his ex-boss, saying the president encouraged him to lie to Congress and the public for Trump's protection. During his appearance, Cohen cast Trump as a "racist," a "con man" and a "cheat." </s> WASHINGTON -- A House committee chairman formally asked the IRS to provide six years of President Donald Trump's personal tax returns and the returns for some of his businesses as Democrats try to shed light on his complex financial dealings and potential conflicts of interest.The request by Massachusetts Rep. Richard Neal, who heads the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, is the first such demand for a sitting president's tax information in 45 years. The unprecedented move is likely to set off a huge legal battle between Democrats controlling the House and the Trump administration.Neal made the request Wednesday in a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, asking for Trump's personal and business returns for 2013 through 2018. He asked for the documents in seven days, setting an April 10 deadline.Trump told reporters Wednesday he "would not be inclined" to provide his tax returns to the committee. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday morning that the White House "is not interested in playing a bunch of political games like the Democrats in Congress clearly want to spend their time doing."An IRS spokesman said the agency had no immediate comment on Neal's request.Democrats insist that obtaining Trump's tax filings falls within their mandate of congressional oversight. Republicans have denounced it as a political witch hunt and invoked privacy concerns."We have completed the necessary groundwork for a request of this magnitude, and I am certain we are within our legitimate legislative, legal and oversight rights," Neal said in a statement Wednesday evening.Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the senior Republican on the Ways and Means panel, denounced the move as "an abuse of the tax-writing committees' statutory authority.""Weaponizing our nation's tax code by targeting political foes sets a dangerous precedent and weakens Americans' privacy rights," Brady wrote in a letter Wednesday to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who oversees the IRS. "As you know, by law all Americans have a fundamental right to the privacy of the personal information found in their tax returns."Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House GOP leader, said "a lot of Americans are shocked" that Congress can review tax returns, "whether it's a blue collar worker or president of the United States."The legal battle set to ensue could take years to resolve, possibly stretching beyond the 2020 presidential election.Trump broke with decades of tradition for presidential candidates by refusing to release his income tax filings during his 2016 campaign. He has said he won't release them because he is being audited, even though IRS officials have said taxpayers under audit are free to release their returns. Trump claimed at a news conference following the November election that the filings are too complex for people to understand.The IRS has a policy of auditing the tax returns of all sitting presidents and vice presidents, "yet little is known about the effectiveness of this program," Neal said in the statement. "On behalf of the American people, the Ways and Means Committee must determine if that policy is being followed, and if so, whether these audits are conducted fully and appropriately."Neal continued, "In order to fairly make that determination, we must obtain President Trump's tax returns and review whether the IRS is carrying out its responsibilities."Neal is one of only three congressional officials authorized under to make a written request to the Treasury secretary for anyone's tax returns. The Internal Revenue Service is part of the Treasury Department. A rarely used 1924 law says the Treasury chief "shall furnish" the requested material to members of the Ways and Means Committee for them to examine behind closed doors.A spokesman for Mnuchin didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.Mnuchin suggested in testimony to Congress last month that he would protect Trump's privacy if the House Democrats requested his tax returns. "We will examine the request and we will follow the law ... and we will protect the president as we would protect any taxpayer" regarding their right to privacy, Mnuchin said.
The United States House Committee on Ways and Means subpoenas United States Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Commissioner of Internal Revenue Charles Rettig to provide President Donald Trump's federal tax returns for the last six years.