Well, this will totally help the nation come together and heal, right? Deciding to turn over the private tax records of someone who is now a private citizen
Biden administration weighs turning over Trump tax returns to House Democrats
House Democrats have renewed their long-stalled demand for Donald Trump’s federal tax records, but the Biden administration has not decided whether it will drop its predecessor’s objections and release the Treasury Department records to investigators, Justice Department attorneys told a federal judge Friday.
U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden declined Friday to lift a stay on a pending House lawsuit. Instead, the judge agreed to give Treasury and Justice Department officials two weeks to report back to him, acknowledging that President Biden’s team was just settling in after the inauguration this week.
McFadden also kept in place an order requiring the government to give the former president’s lawyers 72 hours’ notice before releasing his tax return information to allow them to file a request to block the release.
Separation-of-powers issues that have slowed the case “may fall out†now that Trump is no longer in office, the judge noted.
“It would be a former president trying to stop a political branch, rather than one branch suing another. At least that’s my instinct,†said McFadden, a 2017 Trump appointee to the federal bench in Washington.
This really should be so simple: the law has massive restrictions on releasing the private tax records of any American without just cause, and it’s quite clear this is a partisan fishing expedition, looking for anything. If the GOP was trying to get Biden’s tax records, or those of any other Democrat, in such a way I would be 100% against it. For one thing, it is just improper. For another, it sets a precedent. A really bad one. What if the Dems get his tax records now, and then a Republican wins the White House in 2024 and the GOP controls the House, and want Joe’s tax records, a basic fishing expedition? Do you think Democrats would be OK with that? Do the want a tit for tat? We literally have a Right against this
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
At what point is this “reasonable” to do a fishing expedition on someone’s private documents?
Also, he said the Treasury Department and the House historically have always agreed that requests made under the 1924 law giving the tax-writing committee authority to seek tax returns and other records in overseeing the effectiveness of the Internal Revenue Service’s audit program survive the turnover of Congress.
The House has been stymied for months, “numerous investigations have been obstructed,†and “enough is enough,†Letter argued, saying, “The statute here is clear. ‘Shall’ means ‘shall,’ and therefore the Treasury Department should turn over these materials . . . and that should be the end of it.â€
That law requires there to be a serious reason, not just “we want them to attempt to get Trump, we’re just not sure how.” This is dangerous to the rule of law, and certainly won’t turn the political stove down.
