DEMS/STEVE MNUCHIN/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP TAXES: “Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin again delayed a decision on whether to turn over President Trump’s tax returns to Congress, telling House lawmakers late Tuesday [4-23-19] that the Treasury and Justice Departments needed until May 6 to assess the legality of the ‘unprecedented’ request. In a letter to Representative Richard E. Neal, the Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Mnuchin said that the Treasury Department ‘cannot act upon your request unless and until it is determined to be consistent with law.’ Mr. Mnuchin said the department expected to make a final decision by May 6 ‘after receiving the Justice Department’s legal conclusions.’ Earlier Tuesday, Hogan Gidley, a White House spokesman, signaled that Mr. Trump was girding for a protracted fight over his tax returns…Mr. Trump has used the excuse of an Internal Revenue Service audit since the 2016 presidential campaign as a reason not to release his tax records, though no law prevents a taxpayer from releasing returns while under audit. This month, Mr. Neal formally requested from the Internal Revenue Service six years’ worth of the president’s personal and business tax returns.”
–Alan Rappeport, “Treasury Delays Decision on Whether to Release Trump’s Tax Returns to May 6,” The New York Times online, April 23, 2019