Justice Department Says IRS Must Release Trump Tax Returns to Congress
Summary from the AllSides News Team
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.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Biden's Justice Department says IRS 'must' hand over Trump tax returns to CongressThe Justice Department told the Treasury Department that it "must" turn over former President Donald Trump's tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee, which first requested them more than two years ago.
The direction came in an opinion released Friday by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal advice to the executive branch.
"The Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee has invoked sufficient reasons for requesting the former President's tax information." Under the department's interpretation of federal law, according to the opinion, "Treasury must furnish...
From the Center
Justice Department says Trump's tax returns should be releasedThe Justice Department on Friday said the Treasury Department must turn over former President Trump’s long-sought tax returns to the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee.
In a memo from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), acting Assistant Attorney General Dawn Johnsen said the Treasury Department was required to defer to the congressional committee.
“The statute at issue here is unambiguous: ‘Upon written request’ of the chairman of one of the three congressional tax committees, the Secretary ‘shall furnish’ the requested tax information to the Committee,” Johnsen wrote in the...
From the Right
DOJ Orders Treasury Department to Turn Over Trump’s Tax Returns to House CommitteeThe Department of Justice ordered the Treasury Department to turn over former President Trump’s tax returns to the Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee Friday.
A memo from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) said that the committee satisfied the constitutional requirement that the information requested will serve a legitimate legislative purpose, and therefore the Treasury Department is obliged to release the documents.
“The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee has invoked sufficient reasons for requesting the former president’s tax information,” the opinion said. “Treasury must furnish the...
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