House Jan. 6 Committee hits Trump with subpoenas over his tax returns — but not the one you thought.
The House Oversight and Reform Committee announced this morning its intention to subpoena President Trump’s tax returns from the Treasury Department, and he has said he will not comply.
The move was unexpected and not anticipated to have a major impact on the president’s ability to govern as his administration looks to end the special counsel investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller — who has subpoenaed Trump’s records.
The committee had previously declined to subpoena Trump’s tax records as a tactic to pressure Trump to release them voluntarily.
And it remains to be seen whether the move could impact Mueller’s investigation by forcing the president to disclose relevant documents.
Trump’s legal team in the Russia investigation has claimed he was immune from the order to turn over his tax returns, as it could reveal information about his finances.
The committee’s announcement marks the latest in a string of steps by Democrats to force Trump to comply with their requests, including on his personal attorney Michael Cohen’s business dealings.
We’re going to continue to fight in court.
“We are going to continue to fight in court. We are going to go to court if they choose to sue,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., who chairs the House Oversight Committee. “At the end of the day, the president is going to be held to the standards, and we want to make sure that he can be held to the standards and is held accountable for what is in the reports.”
“Allowing somebody to escape accountability for their actions is a very dangerous thing,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He added: “We’re going to continue to fight in court. We are going to continue to go through the motions of requesting documents when we should not be requesting them.”
The White House has said the administration will not comply with the committee’s request unless a court orders it to.
Trump had previously said he would turn over his tax returns if the issue was resolved through a tax lawsuit.
The House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday filed a lawsuit that accuses the Trump 2016 campaign of a conspiracy with Russia to interfere in the U.S. presidential election