The remarks came just as Trump personal attorney William Consovoy sent a second letter to Treasury Department general counsel Brent McIntosh, saying that Congress has “no constitutional authority to act like a junior-varsity IRS.”
Well, it was always obvious where this would end.
“Chairman Neal’s request is nothing more than an attempt to exercise constitutional authority that Congress does not possess”
True. Except for that whole law thingee.
I hope the Courts are warming up their gravels and know how to do that banging thing. It’s almost time.
Go Neal, go. Play hardball. None of this sissy stuff. No more Mr. Nice Guy.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) told reporters on a press call that if the IRS does not comply with Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-MA)’s request for Trump’s tax info, he “would likely issue a subpoena.”
Yeah, there's no reason to be emphatic and definitive in pressing your case. That runs the risk you appear confident, and confirmed in the belief you're in the right and on firm legal ground.“Chairman Neal’s request is nothing more than an attempt to exercise constitutional authority that Congress does not possess,” Consovoy wrote in the Monday letter, which followed an April 5 missive also urging the Treasury to rebuff Neal’s request.
Can someone please send this guy a thousand paged, Webster’s dictionary with only one word in it -“SHALL”?
Another third-rate lawyer who doesn’t know the law.
At this point they aren’t arguing that the law says they have to do it, they are arguing that the law is un constitutional.
Can someone enlighten us? Does the Teapot Dome law require Congress to give a reason for requesting the taxes?
Trump leads a group of Revolutionaries. a group signaling to overturn the revolution of The declaration of Independence from King George in the end the colonialists prevailed, as we know from the History of this Great Democracy The prevailing winds appear to be in the favor of the Oligarchs. the new royalty . Wake up or lose America. Barr is an Assassin of Democracy and the Rule of law we know it
The longer this plays out the better for Democrats. Trump and team show how afraid they are while Dems pile on and make it front page news. This is a win-win for us.
These failures to comply with Congress or with public officials are just Trump admin testing of how corroded the rule of law has become. Four decades ago such impunity would not even have been thinkable. Now it’s daily flaunting of this or that. Hey, Saudis want to buy some nuclear secrets? Cha-Ching! Hey Chinese guy, want some access to our secure communications? Cha-Ching! Hey Russian leader, “Bсе нормально!”. Cha-chingaling! The government is now controlled by grifters.
This isn’t rocket science. Issue the subpoenas. Force Trump and co to go through the legal process. Force the judges to consider the plain meaning of the statute and case law. Get the win.
Be even more aggressive than that. Determine that IRS Commissioner and Mnuchin are in contempt and lock them up for it.
Assuming we return to normal democratic conditions.
Chu framed the potential litigation as a separation-of-powers issue, looking at “whether the president is subject to the law and congressional oversight.”
What do Trump’s tax returns before he became president have to do with “separation of powers”?
He was a private citizen until the minute he took the oath.
This law was written specifically to counter corruption after a major gov’t scandal. I don’t know how many times it’s been used, but I know it was used with Nixon, and found that he was a tax scammer.
This is only an “obscure” law because the media keeps using the term, and it’s not flashy. My understanding is it has been used a number of times over the years to find corruption.
Considering that this administration is the most corrupt of any in history, and most of that corruption is concentrated in one family, this is exactly the situation this law was targeted for, and it’s use is completely legitimate. To not invoke it would be dereliction of duty.
Some of these people … honestly …
These Lackeys are not Trump.
Cuff 'em…
The thing about stalling is that it only works for so long. Team Trump is, of course, hoping that something will come up while they are stalling to allow them to either stall longer or avoid releasing their taxes altogether. That’s probably not going to happen, but it’s all they’ve got.
In the meantime, the more they stall, the more bad news about Trump that ends up coming out shortly before the election. Imagine if the full Mueller report and Trump’s tax returns were both made public next March.