WASHINGTON — A private lawyer for President Trump told the Treasury Department on Friday that House Democrats demanding the president’s tax returns were abusing their powers to damage him politically, and he urged the department to keep the returns secret. The letter from William Consovoy, a lawyer whose firm also represents Mr. Trump in lawsuits related to foreign spending at his hotels, was most likely the first step in what will be a protracted effort to prevent the president’s tax information from being turned over to the House Ways and Means Committee. “The requests for his private tax information are not consistent with governing law, do not advance any proper legislative purpose, and threaten to interfere with the ordinary conduct of audits,” Mr. Consovoy said in a statement accompanying his letter. “We are confident that this misguided attempt to politicize the administration of the tax laws will not succeed.”[Read the lawyer’s letter.] It is ultimately up to the Internal Revenue Service and its parent agency, the Treasury Department, to decide whether to comply with the request.

Source: New York Times April 05, 2019 21:04 UTC