Trump's attorney says IRS cannot legally release tax returns

A lot of panic by Trump and the Trumpophiles over this. What's Truno trying to hide? Why do his supporters still believe him?

As much as I dislike Trump I believe this would be a really, really bad precedence. Once the genie is out of the bottle it cannot be put back in. There is a very good reason these privacy provisions are in the tax code.

It is very, very likely Trump engaged in some shady business dealings but there is more to be gained by maintaining these checks and balances then drilling down on Trump on this issue.

Accuse him of a crime, go through proper discovery, prosecute, and then issue a subpeona which is properly served (not by e-mail).

Or; change the law - make it a legal requirement to serve as President (and in Congress for that matter) that your financial affairs be made available for scrutiny.

Dangerous slope that could one day be used against those who are proposing it.

Why does T's attorney have any standing in this matter?

@Chip Star. I do not support Trump and I do not believe him. However this is one (and a rare) case I agree with his attorney for reasons stated above.

@Chip Star. I do not support Trump and I do not believe him. However this is one (and a rare) case I agree with his attorney for reasons stated above

I disagree that this is a slippery slope given that the House Ways and Means Committee was provided authorization to request anyone's tax returns way back in the 20s.

The legislature has oversight of the executive. Given Trump's actions of glad-handing horrible countries from which he has allegedly received financing, there is a legitimate legislative reason to request his tax returns: to determine whether Trump has conflicts of interest.

I appreciate your civil engagement in discourse, but completely disagree with your concerns.

FYI, subpoenas are issued during discovery, which occurs prior to prosecution.

Chip Star

I did a bit more reading on this and you are right; I stand corrected on the legal aspect. From a different article on the subject.

Section 6103 of the tax code: “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 shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request.”

Also regarding subpoenas; my mistake on the order of things. I am aware of that.

I am still concerned about the precedence this will set. I am not sure this has been done before (maybe Charlie Rangel?).

I think the best way to avoid this being abused for political purposes would be to enact legislation that all members of Congress as well as the President and Vice President should also be required to release their tax returns as a requirement for election and to serve.

However it is clear that would not go over well

http://media.cq.com/media/congress-tax-returns-2017/

Wasn't Michael Cohen one of Trump's lawyers/fixers? Rudy Giuliani? (By the way, where is he now?)

Dangerous slope that could one day be used against those who are proposing it.

If any politician is profiting from their time in office, the public should know. Releasing tax info, which most do, is one way to possibly find this out.

Even more dangerous if it's found Trump's been involved in criminal activity at home and 'abroad'. (Money laundering? Bribing oligarchs and kleptocrats?)

The American public need to know if the decisions he's making are benefitting his investments and him personally. His investments in big oil? Big war? Mining and extraction? Casinos? His daughter's businessses in China, Russia and elsewhere?

@PTownsend -

You are right.

In order to prevent this from being used as a political took why don't we extrapolate this then to require Congress, The President, and Vice President to be required to release their returns?

Tokyo-En:

It's early on a Saturday, so mistakes are expected. Impressive that you admitted your mistakes instead of doubling down. (It's sad that that is impressive given it's the correct thing to do.)

I agree that all members of Congress and the president should be required to disclose their taxes. Too bad none of them would actually implement legislation to that effect.

In regards to the dangers of this being weaponized for political purposes, I'm afraid that ball is already rolling. It's a testament to the party's over country politics we find ourselves in today.

Another campaign promise broken another lie told same ol same ol....his supporters will come along and spin this into something from a parallel universe

What?

Wasn't Michael Cohen one of Trump's lawyers/fixers? Rudy Giuliani? (By the way, where is he now?) 

He was on TV a few days ago.

If any politician is profiting from their time in office, the public should know. Releasing tax info, which most do, is one way to possibly find this out. 

Yeah....

https://www.weeklystandard.com/mark-hemingway/hillarys-hypocrisy-over-trumps-tax-returns

Even more dangerous if it's found Trump's been involved in criminal activity at home and 'abroad'. (Money laundering? Bribing oligarchs and kleptocrats?) 

Ok and then what?

The American public need to know if the decisions he's making are benefitting his investments and him personally. His investments in big oil? Big war? Mining and extraction? Casinos? His daughter's businessses in China, Russia and elsewhere?

Most Americans at this point don’t care, the only people that care and the more disturbed and mentally obsessed House Democrats. The more the Democrats carry on with their DTS and fail to do what they were elected to do, they will lose power as fast as they got it....like 2010....2014...2016...

In order to prevent this from being used as a political took why don't we extrapolate this then to require Congress, The President, and Vice President to be required to release their returns?

If we weren't in the upside-down world of Trump, I would agree with you - some type of government mandate to release tax returns as a condition for being a Presidential candidate would be best.

But we're confronted with the corrupt, untruthful world of Trump - someone who has used the office to financially benefit him and his family and has openly lied about his investments in Russia.

If Trump hadn't promised during the campaign to release his returns, I'd be more hesitant of getting them through a subpoena. But he made the promise, and like all his promises ("Mark my words, Mexico will pay for the wall"), he then backtracked.

He has to be held accountable.

Hillary released her tax returns, so she cannot be hypocritical regarding Trump's.

This is the exact type of nonsense pushed by Trumpophiles that takes us from the realm of discourse into the realm of fact-checking and correcting. They've mastered the tactic of pushing out so many inaccuracies that discourse grinds to a halt in order to correct their assertions. Sad.

Ok and then what?

He's held accountable. It's disgusting how certain posters excuse crimes committed by rich white guys but want to hammer others for imaginary crimes.

States are starting to look at legislation which would require tax forms to be released before someone can get on the ballot. We will have to see if it stands up legally.

I support it. We need to protect ourselves from Republicans nominating another proven scammer for President.

The law which allows congress to access tax returns dates back to the Teapot Dome scandal of President Harding. It has a purpose: prove your wealth sources, or we'll do it for you. To date, the law has never been invoked as presidents (and even candidates) volunteered their 1040 data.

I support it. We need to protect ourselves from Republicans nominating another proven scammer for President.

And who will support us from scammer Democrat nominees? But yeah, I do support that!

What?

Personal details should be kept private. The only solution I can see is the IRS is hacked, or the information is leaked.

Damn Bill and Hillary for only releasing 12 years of tax returns. Damn them to hell! Good on Trump for not releasing any of his returns.

Exactly, “request” that’s the only thing they can do, doesn’t mean they have the right or will get them.

Semantics. Someone should do a tiny bit of research:

The provision, which dates in some form to the Teapot Dome scandal of Warren G. Harding’s administration, at least on its face gives the Trump administration little room to decline a request like Mr. Neal’s. It only says that the Treasury secretary “shall” furnish the information.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/04/03/us/politics/mueller-report-subpoena-house.amp.html

Consovoy said that Neal's request for Trump's tax information is to damage him politically.

Not if there is nothing politically damaging in there. That's why presidents release their tax returns - to show they have nothing shady in their finances. Trump hid his, because they would show some shady stuff, which yeah, would hurt him politically. Because he's not qualified to be president, and wasn't from the start. He just put off the inevitable by not releasing the returns.

to ensure that the Treasury Department does not erode the constitutional separation of powers or the tax code's core purpose of protecting taxpayer privacy."

It's a gross abuse of power to hide your taxes from the public when you set tax policy.

We all know what the tax returns will show - Trump had paid hardly any tax for years. He probably pays less tax than I do.

So there's hardly any point to ask for this. We know what it says.

Strangerland: Not if there is nothing politically damaging in there.

I think we're pretty far past that. I mean the guy is a proven scammer, brags about sexually assaulting women, imports foreign workers, lies through his teeth, steals from his charity, etc., and his base still loves him. I really don't think they will care if he's tied to Russia financially or launders money or is heavily invested in things he created policy for.

Actually, I guarantee that if his taxes exposes serious criminal offenses, even ones that hurt his working class base, we can just add it to the above list.

It's a gross abuse of power to hide your taxes from the public when you set tax policy.

You guys will be just fine. We were.

Bill Clinton released a dozen years' worth of tax returns. He stopped just short of the year in which he and his wife had reported her spectacular gains. The couple and the campaign refused to explain why the release of tax returns didn't go back further.

I think we're pretty far past that. I mean the guy is a proven scammer, brags about sexually assaulting women,

He did?

imports foreign workers,

He did? Can you prove that he knew? With thousands of people working for him, he checks on every resort and casino and with every Manager all over the world to make sure he doesn’t have any illegals on the payroll, you’re certain of this and you can prove this that he was not aware of this or that he was aware of this, if you can prove me wrong. If not we just speculating like pretty much all liberals do.

lies through his teeth, steals from his charity, etc., and his base still loves him.

Yup!

I really don't think they will care if he's tied to Russia financially or launders money or is heavily invested in things he created policy for. 

That was proven to be false and and debunked, so that page is over let’s close the chapter on that one.

Actually, I guarantee that if his taxes exposes serious criminal offenses, even ones that hurt his working class base, we can just add it to the above list.

And that’s all you can do, and I’ve only the liberal media which at the light on every single politician in Washington, but the stuff that we would find out, oh dear....

What is Trump afraid of? He's not Don Corleone, is he?

stormcrowToday 11:27 am JSTWhat is Trump afraid of? He's not Don Corleone, is he?

He's Spanky Don. He's afraid of getting his cover blown and he's always lambasting the media because he's scared of them - that they'll find the truth about everything he does. His big mouth does their job for them.

lies through his teeth, steals from his charity, etc., and his base still loves him. 

Yup!

Lack of morality.

lies through his teeth, steals from his charity, etc., and his base still loves him. 

Yup!

Appalling.

Go Trump/Pence 2020

Love the guy. Hate the game, not the player.

Watch for the democrats to roll snakes eyes once again.

The Left never gets tired of losing.

I want to see Nancy Pelosi's tax returns.

Rightly so, we don't see anyone of the Democrat contenders volunteering their tax returns.

The 'rats attempt to get our President's tax returns is a violation of both federal law and the Constitution.

Besides, didn't Obama's IRS already process most of those returns? If there were any inconsistencies, you can rest assured they would have been leaked and passed along to the DNC's stenographers -- aka, the MSM -- long, long ago.

When this latest political Kubiki theater finally ends, the liberal tin foil hat conspiracists will be left once again stamping their feet while screaming helplessly at the sky.

a violation of both federal law and the Constitution.

No, it's not.

I want to see Nancy Pelosi's tax returns.

When she runs for president. Or is one.

Again, what is Trump hiding?

There are only two reasons I hear for Trump not releasing his tax returns, and both of them are bogus. The first is the "under audit" claim. The other is the "because liberals" argument.

The righties on this thread come across as really scared that Trump’s tax returns may be exposed. I guess they would rather us claim their boy is corrupt rather than actually find out it’s true.

Disregard the crazies, Mr. President. 

Notwithstanding the fact that your returns have been under audit by eight years of quite possibly weaponized and compromised IRS agents without any preliminary derogatory findings, why succumbed to feckless partisanship.

Besides, there are no consequences to putting the toothless legislative branch in their proper place, as proven by 30,000 subpoenaed emails destroyed without any consequences.

Drag those issues on and let these people hysterically kick and scream their way to 2020!

Rightly so, we don't see anyone of the Democrat contenders volunteering their tax returns.

Oh, imagine what we would find there. Especially, Pelosi’s. Let’s be clear, even if Trump showed all of his tax returns, you know full well, the liberals scan every single number and would look for something to be suspicious about. Because let’s face it, you can find trouble in ANYTHING if you really want to to specifically look for it. I don’t blame the man for not wanting to show his tax returns, it’d be more feed for the Democrats.