During the 2016 presidential elections, Donald Trump offered every imaginable excuse for being the first presidential candidate in modern history not to release his tax returns in an effort to be transparent to the American voters. With the coming takeover of the House by Democratic members of Congress, the fight for those returns will begin in earnest.
The U.S. House must no longer tolerate financial conflicts of interest among its own members or in the White House. Say good bye to congressmen with large stock holdings in individual companies and presidents with global real estate empires.https://t.co/ZoWu0HrgLi
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) December 28, 2018
Nancy Pelosi has said that the release of Trump’s tax returns is key to a number of different House investigations into the president, such as his business ties with Russia and the investigation into his possible violations of the emoluments clause, currently also under investigation in a court of law in the state of New York.
‘Democratic leaders on the House Intelligence Committee have said Trump’s personal financial information would help illuminate whether foreign leaders might have leverage over the president.’
Mr. Trump's tax returns are secret. pic.twitter.com/nGMhYwh90h
— Robert Hill (@humourhelp) December 24, 2018
Maxine Waters is a favorite target of Trump at political rallies and on Twitter, and he will likely regret his decision to use her as a scapegoat to play into his base’s racism and misogyny as she steps into her role as chair of the House Financial Services Committee. As part of her plans to investigate money laundering by Deutsche Bank, the bank where Donald Trump keeps his money, Trump’s tax returns could and most likely will be subpoenaed for review.
‘Waters said Wednesday that she plans to investigate Deutsche Bank AG (DB, +3.01%), which has loaned money to Trump, calling the Frankfurt-based lender “one of the biggest money laundering banks in the world.” She also wants to meet with Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan and investigate payday lenders.’
19. Trump did not pay federal taxes for years and committed tax fraud to avoid paying the taxes that you paid, which he now seeks to misuse. https://t.co/4iO5XtKEABhttps://t.co/DZ4R96RtjD
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) December 24, 2018
Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) answered questions about whether he will subpoena Trump’s returns as part of investigations by the House Ways and Means Committee, for which Neal will serve as chair. He said that it was imperative and proper to do so.
‘Legally, it meets the law, and I think that there are some precedents for this. I hope that the president would do this on his own, largely because every president since Gerald R. Ford has voluntarily done this.’
Letter will serve as the top lawyer for the House of Reps. starting Jan. 3, meaning he will work on behalf of Pelosi + the House dems—a big job. For instance, if Ways + Means requests Trump’s tax returns and Treasury refuses—he would be the one guiding the court fight for Dems. pic.twitter.com/Tw7K1AM00j
— Abigail Tracy (@abigailtracy) December 28, 2018
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and has debunked Trump’s many lies about why he has not yet released his returns. He also plans to issue a subpoena for the documents.
‘The Presidential campaign is over and the fear that a political opponent will try to use tax returns for electoral benefit is passed. President Trump is now governing while also owning a business with international investments. The Constitution faces unprecedented threats due to this arrangement. I believe the powerful Ways and Means Committee has the responsibility to use that power to ensure proper oversight of the executive branch by requesting a review of President Trump’s tax returns and moving towards a formal release of these documents to the public.’
Mueller will finally release his report. The reason tRump hid his tax returns will become very clear, they will be a key component showing strong Russian influence over him and his businesses. GOP will finally reach their limit and call for his resignation.#2019TrumpPredictions pic.twitter.com/d5t3f6zKfS
— Mara Jade ?????️?? (@MaraJade_2017) December 29, 2018
Trump may have had two years of protection from exposure with majorities in both chambers of Congress, but that protection is now coming to an end.
