Mnuchin Says He Expects Courts to Make Call on Trump Tax Returns
16 May 2019 - 2:48AM
Dow Jones News
By Richard Rubin
WASHINGTON -- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he expects
a federal judge to resolve the dispute over congressional access to
President Trump's tax returns, and he signaled that he and IRS
Commissioner Charles Rettig will defy subpoenas demanding the
documents.
"We haven't made a decision but I think you can guess which way
we're leaning on our subpoena," said Mr. Mnuchin, who has contended
that lawmakers lack a legitimate legislative purpose to receive Mr.
Trump's tax returns.
Mr. Mnuchin and Mr. Rettig testified Wednesday at a hearing of
the Senate subcommittee overseeing the Treasury and Internal
Revenue Service budgets.
"This is why there are three branches of government," Mr.
Mnuchin said. "This will go to the third branch of government to be
resolved."
Rep. Richard Neal (D., Mass.), chairman of the House Ways and
Means Committee, has requested six years -- 2013 through 2018 -- of
Mr. Trump's business and personal tax returns along with audit
records. Mr. Neal invoked a 1924 statute that lets the chairmen of
the tax-writing committees obtain any taxpayer's returns.
That statute says the Treasury secretary "shall furnish" such
information, but Mr. Mnuchin has tied his refusal to constitutional
limits on congressional investigations.
Last week, after being rebuffed by Mr. Mnuchin, Mr. Neal issued
subpoenas to Messrs. Mnuchin and Rettig for the documents and set a
deadline of this Friday, May 17.
Mr. Neal has said lawmakers want to see how well the IRS is
auditing the president, under a policy that requires presidents and
vice presidents to be audited each year.
"Wouldn't you agree that Congress has an interest in verifying
that the IRS is fairly enforcing the law and making sure that the
president... is paying the taxes he owes," said Sen. Chris Van
Hollen (D., Md.) at Wednesday's hearing.
During the 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump broke a decadeslong
tradition of voluntary disclosure of tax returns. He has also
referred to tax avoidance as sport and tied his refusal to
continuous audits. No law prevents him from releasing returns while
under audit.
In response to questions from Mr. Van Hollen (D., Md.), Mr.
Mnuchin couldn't say whether the automatic audits include a
president's business dealings.
As with the audit of any business owner, the audits of a
president may include a review of any businesses owned by the
president, Mr. Rettig said.
"The depth of examination of a particular entity would depend on
the judgment or skill of the examiners," he said.
Mr. Mnuchin has offered a more detailed briefing to lawmakers on
those questions.
Mr. Mnuchin also said on Wednesday that Mr. Rettig and IRS Chief
Counsel Michael Desmond agree with the decision not to hand over
the tax returns to Mr. Neal. Mr. Mnuchin has said he relied on
legal advice from the Justice Department, which hasn't yet
published its formal opinion.
"I have not had any discussions with the president or taken any
direction from him or anybody else in the White House on this
issue," Mr. Mnuchin said.
Mr. Trump has made repeated public comments about his refusal to
publicize his tax returns.
Write to Richard Rubin at richard.rubin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 15, 2019 12:33 ET (16:33 GMT)
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