4/15/2019

DEMS/HOUSE OF REPS/TRUMP TAXES: “A lawyer for President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of House Democrats’ bid to seize the president’s tax returns, telling the Treasury Department that the lawmakers have offered no good reason to obtain the documents. William Consovoy attacked Democrats’ arguments that they need Trump’s confidential filings so they can vet the IRS’ audits of the president…The letter comes days after House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) set a new April 23 deadline for the administration to hand over the filings. A Neal spokesperson declined Monday to comment. Neal is citing a nearly century-old law that allows the heads of Congress’ tax committees to examine anyone’s returns. Democrats are trying to use the law to obtain Trump’s returns, which the president has steadfastly refused to release despite a decades-old tradition of presidents and White House contenders voluntarily releasing their filings. Neal, who is demanding six years’ worth of Trump’s personal and some business returns, has said he needs them to examine how rigorously the IRS is implementing its long-standing policy of auditing every president.”

Brian Faler, “Trump lawyer attacks Democrats’ bid for tax returns,” Politico, April 15, 2019 2:24 pm