Court Rules Democrats Can Have Donald Trump's Tax Returns
Democrats initially requested the returns in 2019 under a federal law granting Congress access to private tax information.
09/08/2022 05:25pm BST
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/democrats-trump-tax-returns_n_62f28692e4b0acf9d0024990
Democrats in Congress can have copies of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns, a federal court ruled Tuesday, the latest development in a legal fight that’s dragged on for years.
“We expect to receive the requested tax returns and audit files immediately,” Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee said in a
tweet Tuesday, though Trump could appeal the decision.
Even if they got the documents right away, Democrats have said in the past that they wouldn’t rush to publicize Trump’s tax information, which can reveal details about income and how much tax someone pays, but in Trump’s case is probably complicated by his multiple sources of business income.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the decision “an important victory for the rule of law.”
Democrats initially asked for the returns in 2019 under a federal law granting certain congressional committees any private tax information they formally request from the IRS.
The Trump administration
defied the request, arguing that Democrats only wanted the president’s tax returns in order to embarrass him, so Democrats
asked a federal court to intervene.
Tuesday’s decision, from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, comes as Trump faces legal peril following his single term in office, which closed with him inciting a violent mob at the U.S. Capitol as part of a broader effort to overthrow the 2020 election.
A team of FBI agents searched Trump’s home in Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, prompting an outcry from Trump and congressional Republicans, who said it was wrong to target a former president.