If the administration continues to deny the request, House Democrats could also file a lawsuit in federal court, said Daniel Hemel, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School. In a 2016 column in Forbes, Rettig, then a private attorney, said no “experienced tax lawyer” would advise Trump to publicly release his tax returns during an audit. White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has said that Democrats will never obtain Trump’s tax returns. Presidential candidates since the Nixon administration have released their tax returns, but Trump has refused to do so. Mark W. Everson, who served as the IRS commissioner under President George W. Bush, said there is little dispute that Congress has the authority to receive Trump’s tax returns.

Source: Washington Post April 10, 2019 22:59 UTC