The Democrats will stop at nothing to incite public hatred against Trump and to destroy his presidency. They are insisting on making the complete Mueller report public, especially now that some of the Special Counsel’s investigators have said the report is actually very damaging to Trump.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler is determined to make the whole Mueller report public because of the damage he believes it will cause Trump. He will subpoena the unredacted report if Attorney General William Barr refuses to make it available.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who declared Trump guilty of collusion with the Russians and guilty of obstruction of justice even before Mueller was appointed Special Counsel, continues his tirade against the president. On Sunday, Schiff told CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ program:
“I don’t regret calling out this President for what I consider deeply unethical and improper conduct. Not a bit. And I think the moment that we start to think that we should back away from exposing this kind of malfeasance and corruption is a dangerous point.”
You can bet that Trump-hater Schiff will make sure his Intelligence Committee engages the president and his administration in prolonged trench warfare.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal is prepared to subpoena the last six years of Trump’s tax returns. There is only one reason for exposing those returns, and that is to further incite public hatred of the president. The listed deductions and business dealings with foreign countries, including Russia, are not about to endear middle-class America to Trump.
On Sunday, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told Fox News the request was a “political stunt” and that Democrats will never get their hands on President Trump’s tax returns. He may very well be mistaken.
Section 6103(f)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) reads:
“Upon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate, or the chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Secretary [of the Treasury] shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request, except that any return or return information which can be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer shall be furnished to such committee only when sitting in closed executive session unless such taxpayer otherwise consents in writing to such disclosure.”
Congress inserted that section of the IRS Code when it passed the Revenue Act of 1924 in response to the Teapot Dome scandal which uncovered corruption within President Warren Harding’s administration.
Both the Mueller report and the tax return issues are likely to wind their way through the courts up to the Supreme Court. A final ruling might not occur until after the 2020 elections.
In my opinion, Congress should not be allowed to compel the release of Trump’s tax returns. There is nothing in those returns that would indicate there is corruption in Trump’s administration similar to that in Warren Harding’s.
Fat Albert says
I have no problem with requiring Pres. Trump to submit his tax returns. However, I believe that every single member of Congress should be required to do exactly the same. I want to see Nancy Pelosi’s returns. And Adam Schiffs”s. Certainly Jerry Nadler should be required to make his public. And Maxine Watters. Let’s make ’em all public!
DanMan says
When congress agrees to disclose the amounts and circumstances of the $18 million paid out for the 265 or so incidences of sexual abuse paid by taxpayers to victims of said congressional abuse we can talk. Al Green has been associated with two of those settlements and is a very loud proponent of impeachment on moral grounds. Al, put up or shut up.
btw, both of Al’s settlements were directed to the same staffer. My hunch is they saw how easy it was to collect so they took another bite.
And to follow up on Albert’s comment. Dianne Feinstein’s husband has profited handsomely from government largess. She chaired defense oversight for decades and had purview over spending from the Department of Defense. Bernie Sanders has never held a job outside of government and owns three houses. Same with Joe Biden. Let’s open all of their records too.
NoTrueConservative says
If Trump has nothing to hide, why does he continue hiding his returns? Every presidential candidate over the last 40 years has realeased their returns, except Ford who still released a summary. The last president who was this opaque was Nixon, who lied about his returns. Trying to throw up Democrat examples of potential corruption is unhealthy. Just because someone else is getting away with it doesn’t make it right. Republican abdication of basic morality and rule of law for Trump has already cost them. Better to be the party of Lincoln and Eisenhower than Nixon and Trump.