Justice Department Says IRS Must Release Trump Tax Returns to Congress

The Treasury Department must release former President Donald Trump’s tax returns to the Democrat-led House Ways and Means Committee, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel said Friday. Acting Assistant Attorney General Dawn Johnsen wrote in a memo that the committee had “invoked sufficient reasons for requesting the former President’s tax information,” satisfying the requirement that tax information requested from the executive branch serve a “legitimate legal purpose.” Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), who chairs the committee, originally requested the documents in 2019 for the stated purpose of studying the IRS’ mandatory presidential audit program. However, the Trump Justice Department ruled that the committee’s request was politically motivated; thus, the Trump administration refused to release the records and ignored a subpoena, prompting the House to file a lawsuit.

Coverage was mostly balanced across the spectrum, with coverage in left-rated outlets slightly more likely to bring up Rep. Neal’s subpoenas than coverage in right-rated outlets. While most headlines across the spectrum used forceful language to convey that the Treasury “must” hand over the documents, headlines in Fox News and Bloomberg said that the the Treasury “can” release the documents.