Former President Donald Trump challenged last week’s order from the U.S. Department of Justice that his tax returns should be handed over to a House committee in court on Wednesday.
In a document filed in the District of Columbia Federal Court, Trump’s lawyers stated that the House Ways and Means Committee lacked a legal basis for seeking his federal tax returns, and the Justice Department made a mistake in supporting the committee’s request.
The department changed Trump’s stance when he took office, telling the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Friday to provide congressional investigators with the tax record of the Republican businessman’s conversion into a politician—a move he has long opposed.
Trump is the first president in 40 years to not publish his tax returns and other documents because he intends to keep the wealth and details of his family company Trump Organization confidential.
audit
The Democrat-led fundraising committee stated that it hopes to use tax data to determine whether the IRS has properly audited presidential tax returns in general and assess whether new legislation is needed.
Trump’s lawyers called this an “excus” to rationalize.
They said in Wednesday’s court documents: “These requests are tailored to President Trump and will only affect President Trump in practice.” “These requests single out President Trump because he is a Republican. Party members and political opponents.”
Critics accuse Trump of using the Justice Department to advance his personal and political interests during his four-year term. Since Democratic President Joe Biden took office, the Justice Department has begun to reaffirm its independence.
After another legal battle, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office obtained Trump’s tax and financial records in a criminal investigation centered on his company in February, but the materials were not publicly disclosed.
