Today, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), the leading Republican on the influential House Ways and Means Committee, made the following statement after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin sent a letter to Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) regarding House Democrat’s request for six years of President Trump’s tax returns:
“After consulting with the Justice Department the Treasury Department has come to the firm conclusion that we have known since day one: this request from House Democrats to weaponize the tax code for purely political reasons is illegitimate and should be treated as such. This politically motivated abuse of the law violates our Constitution – and serves no legislative purpose. Abusing the tax writing Committee’s authority to go after a political enemy sets a dangerous precedent, and the Administration is right not to go along with it.”
Brady isn’t the only Member of Congress that has expressed concerns about the actions of House Democrats over the President’s taxes. USA Business Radio reports:
“Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), the top Republican on the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, said during the hearing that ‘Congress enacted taxpayer protections embedded in Section 6103 of the tax code to ensure every American’s privacy and to prevent the abuse of taxpayer information.’
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“’Americans should be able to trust that the federal government or some unelected bureaucrat in Washington is not going to publicly release their tax returns without their consent,’ Rep. Kelly added.
“Solutions exist to increase transparency when it comes to the financial information of those seeking office in 1600 Pennsylvania, Rep. Brady said, citing the already required Presidential Candidate Financial Disclosure form.
“Publicly available to taxpayers and lawmakers, Rep. Brady said Congress can work together to learn more about candidates using the already-extensive financial disclosure form without having to put workers’ and families’ private tax returns at risk to political phishing by whatever party is in power.
“’We can, by law, say to any President or candidate ‘look, we want to know more about this. That is the way to do it, the right way,’ Rep. Brady said, ‘not by weaponizing the tax code.’
