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Mnuchin Refuses to Hand Over Trump Tax Returns to Congress

Reuters Wire By Reuters Wire
Published May 6, 2019 at 3:16pm
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Congressional Democrats edged closer on Monday to fighting two legal battles – one over the Mueller report and one over President Donald Trump’s tax returns – after administration officials stonewalled lawmakers’ requests for those documents.

The House Judiciary Committee set a vote for Wednesday on whether to cite Attorney General William Barr with contempt over his refusal to provide the panel with a full, unredacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation report and underlying evidence from the probe.

Separately, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he would not provide the House Ways and Means Committee with six years of Trump’s individual and business tax returns, despite a formal request by Chairman Richard Neal under a law authorizing such actions.

“I have determined that the committee’s request lacks a legitimate legislative purpose … the department is therefore not authorized to disclose the requested returns and return information,” Mnuchin said in a letter on Monday to Neal.

Neal responded in a statement: “I will consult with counsel and determine the appropriate response.”

Both developments put the two oversight committees on a course leading to federal court action to obtain the documents, as the Trump administration escalated its push to block multiple probes by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

Republicans in Congress have rejected the efforts of both Democratic-led committees as political gamesmanship intended to appeal to the Democratic Party’s voting base ahead of the 2020 presidential election, in which Trump is seeking re-election.

“The attorney general’s failure to comply with our subpoena … leaves us no choice but to initiate contempt proceedings,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said in a statement released along with a committee report citing Barr with contempt of Congress.

“If the department presents us with a good faith offer for access to the full report and the underlying evidence, I reserve the right to postpone these proceedings,” he said.

If Nadler’s committee votes as expected to adopt a contempt citation on Wednesday, the measure will go to the full House for a floor vote that is likely to pass. Lawmakers say such an outcome would lead to a civil court case against Barr, raising the possibility of fines and other legal actions for failure to comply.

Democrats also expect Neal’s battle with Mnuchin over Trump’s tax returns to wind up in a lengthy court battle, although Neal could begin by issuing a subpoena for the documents.

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Reuters Wire
Curated and edited selection of real-time Reuters coverage of the world's financial markets, political capitals and conflict zones.









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