Democrats will hold the hearing instead of just trying to obtain the documents.
The secrecy of President Donald Trump’s tax returns will be the subject of a hearing next week, Democrats in the House of Representatives announced Thursday.
Democrats have had the power to request Trump’s tax returns from the Internal Revenue Service since they assumed control of the House this year, but they’ve hesitated. To build the public case for disclosure, the House tax committee’s oversight panel will examine its authority to obtain the president’s tax returns at a Feb. 7 hearing.
Trump was the first major presidential candidate in 40 years not to release tax returns, which would have revealed detailed information about his sources of income and how much tax he pays. Democrats vowed to get the returns themselves, but haven’t done it yet.
Pressure is building, with an ABC News/Washington Post poll showing a healthy majority of Americans support the move. Tax March, a coalition of liberal groups, has been pressuring Democrats to hurry up, and Democratic members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus have been getting antsy, too.
Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), the chairman of the tax committee, has said he wants time “to lay out a case” for the move and that staffers drafting the request are doing it “methodically” and need time.
Trump’s tax returns could show whether he evaded taxes, as a blockbuster New York Times report alleged that he and his father, Fred Trump, did for decades in the 20th century. The returns could also provide information about the sources of financing and debt at his multi-billion dollar real estate business.
As part of the public case, Democrats introduced legislation by Reps. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) that would require presidential candidates to disclose 10 years of tax returns.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has hinted that he will not comply with the Democrats’ request, which could get tied up in court for months.
More: Democrats Announce Hearing On Trump's Tax Returns
Well, slow but sure - hopefully. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin will likely be forced to turn them over. What do you think?
They originally wanted to find evidence of payments from Russia but now since they know that the Russian collusion is complete bullshit, they are dragging their feet. The LAST thing they need right now before an election season rolls around is for the public to know exactly how mush wasted time and money they spent on this witch hunt and that Trump was right all along. Don’t hold your breath waiting to see the tax returns.