House Democrats filed a federal lawsuit against the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in an effort to obtain six years' worth of President Donald Trump's tax returns.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal requested copies of the president's tax returns in April. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin refused to turn them over, claiming the Democrats' request lacked "a legitimate legislative purpose." Neal responded by issuing subpoenas to the Treasury Department and the IRS. Neither agency turned over the documents, prompting him to file the lawsuit.
"In refusing to comply with the statute, Defendants have mounted an extraordinary attack on the authority of Congress to obtain information needed to conduct oversight of Treasury, the IRS, and the tax laws on behalf of the American people," the suit says.
President Trump's lawyer, Jay Sekulow, says that they "will respond to this latest effort at presidential harassment in court."
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