It Begins: Resistance in Full Swing as House Dems Sue for Trump's Tax Returns
Democrats used to be sure they had President Donald Trump in their sights. Talking heads on liberal media networks all but declared America would see Trump perp-walked by the FBI on his way to federal prison.
They tried with the help of Robert Mueller, which failed. They tried the character assassination route by throwing sexual misconduct allegations at the president. That, too, failed. Impeachment? So far, that hasn’t worked, either.
After all those attempts have fizzled out, Democrats are scrambling before the 2020 presidential elections because whether they admit it or not, Trump is looking primed to claim another four years in the White House.
But make no mistake. They’re still trying. According to CNN, the House Ways and Means Committee filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service in an effort to force the release of Trump’s tax returns.
Committee chairman Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts has been using a relatively unknown IRS provision in his attempts to obtain the tax returns. The provision, from Internal Revenue Code Section 6103, allows the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee to get their hands on a person’s tax returns for “legislative” purposes.
The lawsuit stems from Neal’s initial request for Trump’s returns in early April. The Department of the Treasury, headed by Trump-appointee Steven Mnuchin, formally denied the 6103 request. That triggered Neal to issue subpoenas to both the Treasury Department and the IRS in May.
Democrats in the party decided they were done waiting and have now moved forward with a lawsuit.
“In refusing to comply with the statute, Defendants have mounted an extraordinary attack on the authority of Congress to obtain information needed to conduct oversight of Treasury, the IRS, and the tax laws on behalf of the American people who participate in the Nation’s voluntary tax system,” House attorneys wrote in the lawsuit.
Jay Sekulow, one of the president’s attorneys, called the suit “presidential harassment,” vowing to mount a fight.
“We will respond to this latest effort at Presidential harassment in Court,” Sekulow said.
According to The Associated Press, the committee isn’t required to justify why it wants the president’s tax returns. In the lawsuit, the committee accused the Treasury department of “shielding” the president’s personal financial information.
CNN also reported that Texas Rep. Kevin Brady responded to the Democrats’ lawsuit by stating he’ll work to pass a resolution to oppose it. He called the lawsuit a “dangerous course of action” and vowed to “preserve the integrity of the People’s House from the attacks of the elite few and restore the voice of every American.”
It’s clear why Democrats want the returns: they’ll seize on every opportunity they get before the 2020 election to find something that’ll make headlines and potentially snare Trump in legal net.
If they somehow did acquire his returns through the use of legal action and they showed that he made less money than he claimed he did, what will happen?
Do they really think Trump’s supporters will be soured if he made a few billion less in his successful run as a New York real estate mogul?
The president’s base has proven time and again that Trump’s past is irrelevant. What they see is an president who has revived a crippled economy and renewed a job market that continues to set records today.
It’s getting late in the game. After so many failed attempts at tripping up the president, Democrats are starting to get desperate.
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