Judge orders Treasury to notify Trump before giving up tax returns
The latest back-and-forth is an example of the type of legal wrangling arising from his administration that will continue to dog Donald Trump.
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Treasury Department to give attorneys for former President Donald Trump 72 hours’ notice if it decides to turn over Trump’s federal tax returns to House Democrats.
District Court Judge Trevor McFadden said the order would last for two weeks, amid uncertainty over how the change in administrations will affect House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal’s long-running effort to get Treasury to turn over Trump’s returns. McFadden also ordered attorneys for all sides in the case to file a joint status report by Feb. 3.
Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin refused to surrender Trump’s returns when Neal requested them in 2019. But with Democrat Joe Biden now in the White House, Treasury could decide to hand them over.
In a hearing before McFadden, House Counsel Douglas Letter said the committee still wants the returns and hopes Treasury “will follow what we believe is a clear legal obligation” to provide them.
Justice Department attorney James Gilligan told McFadden he had no idea whether Treasury or the DOJ, which backed Mnuchin’s decision, had changed its position or was about to, adding “they have a lot on their plate” with the change in administrations.
Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, has been seeking six years worth of Trump’s personal tax returns, and some of his business-related returns, citing a law that requires the Treasury secretary to turn over any returns requested by the chairs of Congress’ three tax committees.
While Neal said he needed the returns to examine the integrity of the IRS’ routine audits of presidents, Democrats were eager to pick through them for any signs of malfeasance.
After Mnuchin refused, saying Neal didn’t have a “legitimate legislative purpose” for wanting the returns, Democrats sued in federal court in July 2019. Since then, the case has moved at a glacial pace.
The latest back-and-forth is an example of the type of legal wrangling arising from his administration that will continue to dog Trump.
In a separate case, House Democrats said in December they would reissue a subpoena to Trump’s accounting firm for his financial records. And Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. is seeking Trump’s tax returns in yet another case.
Letter expressed frustration at the delays in Neal’s case.
“Our feeling is enough is enough,” Letter said during Friday’s hearing. “The statute is clear” that the Treasury secretary must give Trump’s returns to Neal.