The Justice Department released an opinion Friday defending Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s refusal to comply with a House Democratic subpoena for six years of President Trump’s personal and business tax returns.
Last month, Mnuchin said he consulted with the Department of Justice in making the decision not to hand over the returns to the House Ways and Means Committee, saying the request “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.”
HOUSE DEMOCRAT SUBPOENAS MNUCHIN, IRS FOR TRUMP’S TAX RETURNS
In its opinion Friday, the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel said that it advised the Treasury Department to deny the request.
“While the Executive Branch should accord due deference and respect to congressional requests, Treasury was not obliged to accept the Committee’s stated purpose without question, and based on all the facts and circumstances, we agreed that the Committee lacked a legitimate legislative purpose for its request,” the opinion states.
Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Richard Neal, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee issued subpoenas last month to Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig for the tax returns. – READ MORE