The Justice Department said that the Treasury Department must hand over former president Donald Trump’s tax returns. He must return it to the House Ways and Means Committee to put an apparent end to the long battle for the records.
In its 39 – page opening, the Office of Legal Counsel of the Justice Department has found that the committee has invoked sufficient reasons to request the tax information. It has added that “the statute at issue here is unambiguous.”
This new opinion is stating that the previous decision has failed to take into account. The office is now finding that the previous administration in denying the request for a tax record has failed to afford them respect. This took place due to the coordinated branch of the government.
In 2019, House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal requested from the Treasury Departments’ tax records and the Trump-related businesses to examine the IRS enforcement. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked the OLC about how to respond.
OLC advised Mnuchin that the committee needs to demonstrate a legitimate legislative purpose. It went on to say that the request of the committee was a pretext, and it has requested for the tax records of Mr. Trump for public release. The OLC agreed with the Treasury that this request was not legitimate. Also, it banned the Treasury from providing House Ways and Means with the tax records.
The opinion issued on Friday has disputed the determination of Trump’s administration. The interest of the committee in return was simply ruse enough to guide the political motivations in It. OLC has called this finding irrelevant.
“Congress is composed of elected members who stand for re-election. It is, therefore, neither unusual nor illegitimate for partisan or other political considerations to factor into Congress’s work,” the opinion says. “If the mere presence of a political motivation were enough to disqualify a congressional request, the effect would be to deny Congress its authority to seek information — a result that is incompatible with the Constitution.”
The new opinion states that the executive branch can end with a records request from congress. However, it lacks the legitimate legislative purpose online in exceptional circumstances. The Ways and Means Committee will review the tax returns of the former President from the years 2015-2020. It will investigate whether he has complied with the tax laws or not.
The Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. has obtained the tax records of the former President. This move came following the decline of the Supreme Court of the shield of the secretive documents from the investigators. Vance is also investigating the office and the business dealings of Trump.
Credits: CBS News
