Since 1924
It’s a big No on the tax returns.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday told House Democrats he would not furnish President Trump’s tax returns despite their legal request, the latest move by Trump administration officials to shield the president from congressional investigations.
The latest move by Trump administration officials to shield the corrupt thieving cheating lying president from congressional investigations.
Mnuchin added that requests from Congress “must serve a legitimate legislative purpose” and that the request from Democrats does not.
A number of legal experts have said it would be unprecedented for Mnuchin to refuse to turn over the tax returns, as the power for lawmakers to seek the returns is written explicitly in a 1924 law.
In other words administration hacks are just making it up as they go along while Barr smirks in approval.
The chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee have had the authority since 1924 to obtain the tax returns of any American, and the law stipulates that the Treasury secretary “shall furnish” the information once it is requested. This law was put in place during the Harding administration because of financial improprieties that stemmed from the Teapot Dome scandal.
And Trump’s financial improprieties (that is to say, crimes) are being concealed and protected by Trump’s gang of crooks in defiance of that law.
Just reading about this on the Guardian site’s live feed, and there is a bit on another, very insidious process being planned, this one by ICE, which would allow local police officers – including those in sanctuary cities – to make federal arrests to support deportations.
Sneaky fuckers.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2019/may/06/trump-news-today-live-mueller-china-iran-democrats-2020-barr-latest-updates
The Trumpers have decided to see if the Democrats have the guts to actually have a government official put in handcuffs and carted off to the local jail. So, will they or won’t they? You can be sure Putin is telling Trump to keep pushing in hopes that the Dems will crumble.
The answer to any question involving “do Democrats have the guts…” is almost always “nope.”
A law is only as good as those who enforce it.
SCOTUS ruled that Congress has a right to see tax returns only if there’s is a “legitimate legislative purpose,” not just if they’re curious/desirous to see them. Like it or not, that’s the crux of the situation here.
Oss Ickle,
Please provide the case citation.
Oss Ickle, would you like to provide a citation to a SCOTUS decision related to that specific law?
I’m aware of decisions related to the power of Congress to conduct investigations and subpoena documents generally, but not specifically related to this law. Since the main reason Trump’s returns are wanted is because there is reason to believe he has committed financial crimes and has behaved in a corrupt manner; there is a clear basis for conducting an investigation.
From a Bloomberg article about how the 1924 law came into being…