Treasury Dept. Contacted by Trump Team Ahead of Dem’s Tax Return Request

Americans may have been a little disappointed in the pettiness of the democratic party as of late, but they should perhaps also be worried about their predictability. 

As the Mueller report fizzled into a nothing-burger that the right wing gladly savored in the faces of their political enemies, the democratic party was equally as pedantic and childish.  Instead of tucking tail and moving on, as Nancy Pelosi had politely suggested, fringe members of the party chose, instead, to continue stoking the fires of the “resistance” with attacks on the President.

If Russia wouldn’t get him, perhaps his tax returns would do the job.

House democrats were soon attempting to subpoena the President’s tax returns in a move whose timing was called into question by just about every fair witness.

Trump was already ahead of them, however.

White House lawyers communicated with the Treasury Department about how to handle House Democrats’ request for President Trump’s tax returns even before they made it, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday.

The law invoked last week by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., empowers Congress to obtain the returns of any taxpayer directly from the Internal Revenue Service. The process was designed to bypass the White House and give Congress equal authority.

Neal gave the IRS until this Wednesday to respond to the committee’s request. Mnuchin told reporters after the hearing that the official response to Neal’s letter could come within that time frame.

Mnuchin’s explanation of the circumstance wasn’t the most transparent or confidence-inspiring of sentences.

Under questioning by Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., at a House subcommittee hearing, Mnuchin said: “I want to be very clear and not misleading. I acknowledge that there were conversations. I am not briefed on the full extent of those conversations.”

Many right wing pundits have used these petty squabbles to paint the democrats as sore losers whose sportsmanship could be called into question, which is one description that defies admonishment.

Now, it will be the left’s turn to accusations the Treasury Department of some vague “conspiracy” or “collusion”, all the while dividing the American people down imaginary partisan lines.