Trump Makes Major Move in Tax Return Fracas

As we’ve witnessed several times over the course of the last few years, Donald Trump really does not want his tax returns to be made public.

During the 2016 campaign, this was at the center of a contentious argument.  Hillary Clinton would goad Trump incessantly during the televised debates regarding the paperwork, with Trump relaying that he would love to provide them, but his lawyers have advised him to decline on account of ongoing audits.

Now, in the wake of the Mueller report, (and the secret disappointment of the democrats in its conclusion), the fight to bring Trump’s tax returns to light has risen again.

The President, unsurprisingly, in unenthused with this latest scheme, and is going to great lengths to squash it.

President Trump’s personal lawyer on Friday asserted Mr. Trump’s right as a citizen to keep his tax returns private and told the Treasury Department not to hand the returns over to House Democrats, foreshadowing what has the potential to be a far-reaching legal fight that could reach the Supreme Court.

The lawyer, William S. Consovoy, argued that Democrats who have demanded to see Mr. Trump’s tax information had no legitimate legislative reason to request it and that Representative Richard E. Neal’s decision this week to ask for six years of the president’s personal and business returns flouts “fundamental constitutional constraints.” He also called it a “gross abuse of power.”

As of this writing, neither the IRS nor the Treasury Department have made any indication on how they’ll handle the requests and the ensuing legal limbo.

Some involved with the case have indicated that the fight over Trump’s taxes could traverse the judicial system for months, and ultimately land in the Supreme Court.