HOUSE OF REPS/IRS/LAWSUIT/TREASURY/TRUMP TAXES: “The House sued the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday [7-2-19], demanding access to President Trump’s tax returns and escalating a fight with an administration that has repeatedly dismissed as illegitimate its attempt to obtain the financial records. The lawsuit moves the dispute into the federal courts after months of sniping between the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee, which requested and then subpoenaed the returns, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The case may ultimately go to the Supreme Court, and its outcome is likely to determine whether financial information that Mr. Trump has kept closely guarded in spite of longstanding presidential tradition will be viewed by Congress and, ultimately, the public. In Tuesday’s filing, the House argued that the administration’s defiance of its request amounted to ‘an extraordinary attack on the authority of Congress to obtain information needed to conduct oversight of Treasury, the I.R.S. and the tax laws on behalf of the American people.’ It asked a judge to order the defendants to comply.”
–Nicholas Fandos and Charlie Savage, “House Files Lawsuit Seeking Disclosure of Trump Tax Returns,” The New York Times online, July 2, 2019