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Home Front: Politix
Sekulow: Tax return request is using 'the IRS as a political weapon'
2019-04-08
[The Hill] House Democrats’ request for President Trump’s tax returns amounts to using "the IRS as a political weapon," Trump’s attorney Jay Sekulow said on Sunday morning.

Sekulow told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that Congress may request individual citizens’ tax returns only for a "legitimate legislative purpose," which he claimed House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) has not identified.

The Supreme Court "has said congressional oversight cannot become law enforcement," Sekulow told Stephanopoulos, saying the request would be using the IRS as "a political weapon" and suggesting it could set a precedent where Republicans could demand Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) tax returns.

On Friday, William Consovoy, an outside attorney for Trump, wrote to the Treasury Department's general counsel that the IRS should not release Trump’s tax returns without an opinion from the Justice Department. Trump has claimed an ongoing audit prevents him from releasing the returns.
Posted by:Besoeker

#10  Couldn't Ms. Karma (so to speak) release selected (D) returns?
Posted by: Bobby   2019-04-08 17:29  

#9  I had the same thought P2K.

Release all politicians' tax returns. Both federal and state.

Watch the cockroaches scatter.
Posted by: DarthVader   2019-04-08 16:30  

#8  Actually I like this. The Democrats could be using their time to pass intrusive and counterproductive laws, write more choking regulations, and persecuting people they don't agree with...so if they want to waste their time on tax returns, that is actually OK with me.
Posted by: Tom   2019-04-08 13:53  

#7  When did the Dems ever come clean on anything?
Posted by: JohnQC   2019-04-08 11:39  

#6   Didn't Obama (jokingly) threaten to have the IRS audit his enemies?

You know it, Rambler!

Just a technical note - if the IRS ever released this information it would not be a 'tax return' in a technical sense. Instead it would be the IRS' 'Record of Account', which is the line-by-line information that's on someone's tax return. It's not as straightforward to read as having a 1040 with al the schedules, though.

One other thing, which I've mentioned a lot of times previously is the matter of rich people getting audited, for which I've estimated a 1 in 5 chance if your AGI (adjusted gross income) exceeds $1 million. Trump has said previously that he wasn't releasing his tax returns for the same reason, which to me means one of two (or maybe both) reasons - a) the IRS is dragging the audit out for whatever reason; and / or b) multiple years are under audit.
Posted by: Raj   2019-04-08 09:35  

#5  Didn't Obama (jokingly) threaten to have the IRS audit his enemies?
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia    2019-04-08 08:41  

#4  But I thought the Dems wouldn't try something immoral like this unless Republicans did it first!
Posted by: gorb   2019-04-08 06:52  

#3  I say, 'release them all'. The tax returns of every member of Congress!
Posted by: Procopius2k   2019-04-08 06:46  

#2  Hot Air - Romney: It’s “Moronic” For Democrats To Think Courts Will Let Them Obtain Trump’s Tax Returns
Posted by: Besoeker   2019-04-08 06:05  

#1  This is essentially a search. Where is the "probable cause" and evidence of criminal activity ? Where is the legal precedent ?

Appears to be a violation of the 4th and 14th Amendments regarding lawful searches.
Posted by: Besoeker   2019-04-08 05:39  

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