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The federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that a congressional panel can obtain former President Donald Trump’s tax returns from the Government Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The former president has fought for years to prevent the Democratic led panel from obtaining his tax returns.
The House
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, a Democrat from Massachusetts,
had filed a lawsuit to force the IRS to hand over the required documents, The Washington
Times reports.
Mr. Trump is
expected to appeal the 3-0 ruling.
House Means and Ways Committee celebrates ruling allowing Trump's tax returns to be released
On Twitter
the House Means and Ways Committee celebrated the ruling: “the DC Court of
Appeals has just ruled that the law is on our side in seeking Trump's tax
returns.
“We expect
to receive the requested tax returns and audit files immediately,” the
committee wrote.
Neil said “when
we receive the returns, we will begin our oversight of the IRS’s mandatory
presidential audit program,” according to The Washington Times.
Victory for "rule of law" - Nancy Pelosi on ruling allowing Trump's tax returns to be released
House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi also wrote on Twitter saying, “today’s decision ordering
the release of Donald Trump’s tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee
is an important victory for the rule of law.”
“Access to
the former president’s tax returns is crucial to upholding the public interest,
our national security & our Democracy,” she added.
The ruling
is a follow up to a raid by the FBI at Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago home in
search of possible classified records that the former president may have taken
from the White House after his presidency, a day before.
The Washington
Times reported that Mr. Neal is seeking years of Mr. Trump’s tax returns under
a law that allows the committee to obtain any individual’s tax information.
What is the appeals court saying about Trump's tax returns?
Circuit
Judge David Sentelle, wrote the majority opinion saying the congressional
request “has not clearly gone beyond the scope of the Committee’s inquiry,”
according to The Washington Times. He dismissed Trump’s argument that it would
be unconstitutional to comply with such request and that it would violate his
privacy.
“While it is
possible that Congress may attempt to threaten the sitting president with an
invasive request after leaving office, every president takes office knowing
that he will be subject to the same laws as all other citizens upon leaving
office,” Judge Sentelle wrote. “This is a feature of our democratic republic,
not a bug.”