One possible target for the new House Democratic majority: the president’s tax returns.
The House Ways and Means Committee intends to request President Donald Trump’s tax returns once Democrats take majority control of the House, MSNBC’s Ari Melber reported on air Tuesday evening, citing “a senior Democratic source.”
That tracks with reports from last month, when the House Democrat now in a position to chair the Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), told the Wall Street Journal that Democrats would request Trump’s tax returns if they won the majority.
As the Journal notes, Trump’s tax returns “would provide a detailed look at his finances, including the sources of income, business partners and charitable contributions.” They could shed light on questions about the Trump Foundation and Trump Organization that have been raised by damaging reporting from the Washington Post and New York Times, respectively.
Though Trump promised in 2014 that he would “absolutely” release his tax returns if he “decide[d] to run for office,” he has broken 40 years of precedent by refusing to do so on the campaign trail and steadfastly continuing to refuse to do so since becoming president.
Congress has the ability, under a law passed in 1924, to inspect tax returns from any taxpayer — including high-ranking officials. Trump, however, indicated before a campaign rally in Indiana on Monday that he may not cooperate if Democrats make moves to scrutinize his taxes.
“I don’t care,” Trump said in response to a question about if he’s concerned about Dems going after his taxes. “They can do whatever they want, and I can do whatever I want.”
During an interview last month, Trump ally and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggested the fight over Trump’s taxes could ultimately wind up before the Supreme Court.
“Then they’ll be trapped into appealing to the Supreme Court, and we’ll see whether or not the [Brett] Kavanaugh [Supreme Court] fight was worth it,” Gingrich said on the topic of Democrats possibly subpoenaing Trump’s tax returns.
House Republicans’ ability to protect Trump is coming to an end
In an string of tweets posted Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning, Trump framed the midterm election resulted as a “Tremendous success,” a “Big Victory,” and took a victory lap about Republican gains in the Senate.
