DEMS/GOP/HOUSE OF REPS/TRUMP TAXES: “House Republicans on Thursday [2-7-19] signaled how they plan to fight back attempts by Democrats to obtain President Donald Trump’s personal tax returns, describing the effort in a hearing as a ‘waste of time’ and ‘weaponizing’ the law to target a political foe. Throughout a more than two-hour hearing on Capitol Hill, GOP lawmakers pressed tax historians and experts over whether a House tax-writing committee has the legal authority to request such confidential financial documents from the Treasury secretary, describing it as a clear violation of privacy of any individual American that would set a “dangerous precedent’…It was an argument that Republican lawmakers returned to repeatedly in reviewing a provision in the Democrats’ sweeping ethics reform legislation — H.R. 1—that requires future presidential candidates and the President to release 10 years of tax returns.Thursday’s hearing was a step aimed at helping Democrats bolster their case for why the American people need to see Trump’s tax returns, arguing given his array of business dealings, including overseas, should be revealed to the public.”
–Donna Borak, Lauren Fox and Alex Rogers, “House Republicans stake out a privacy defense on Trump’s tax returns,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, February 7, 2019 7:17 pm