Democrats Just Escalated Fight Over Trump Tax Returns

The fight over President Trump's tax returns is now in federal court. The House Ways and Means Committee filed suit Tuesday to obtain the president's personal and business returns from 2013 to 2018, reports the Hill. The committee earlier this year issued a subpoena for the returns, but the White House rejected it. The lawsuit represents House Democrats' next step in the legal fight. “Defendants have mounted an extraordinary attack on the authority of Congress to obtain information needed to conduct oversight of Treasury, the IRS, and the tax laws on behalf of the American people who participate in the Nation’s voluntary tax system,” states the 49-page lawsuit, filed by panel chairman Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts.

The suit names Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig as defendants. The matter, dealing with the larger issue of how much oversight Congress can exert over the White House, could end up in the Supreme Court, per the Washington Post. “This is a big deal that goes to the core of our government’s checks and balances, and could for many years shape the relationship between the executive and legislative branches,” a legal expert at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center tells the Post. (More President Trump stories.)