A Democrat-led House panel received former President Donald Trump’s taxes on Wednesday following a multi-year court battle that culminated in a loss at the Supreme Court.
The House Ways and Means Committee has been pursuing Trump’s taxes since 2019, purportedly to see whether there should be any changes to the law on auditing presidential returns. Although the committee can legally obtain any person’s taxes, the Treasury Department under Trump refused, arguing that there was no valid reason to turn them over.
“Treasury has complied with last week’s court decision,” a Treasury spokesperson told the Associated Press on Wednesday. It’s not clear whether any members of Congress have accessed them yet.
Democrats now have until early January, when Republicans will take control of the House and likely end the inquiry. Despite the looming time constraint, Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, celebrated the decision last week as a victory for oversight, suggesting that Democrats will waste no time digging into the returns.
“We knew the strength of our case, we stayed the course, followed the advice of counsel, and finally, our case has been affirmed by the highest court in the land,” Neal said. “Since the Magna Carta, the principle of oversight has been upheld, and today is no different. This rises above politics, and the Committee will now conduct the oversight that we’ve sought for the last three and a half years.”
Trump, who earlier this month announced he will run for president again, has not publicly commented on the Treasury Department’s decision to release his taxes to Congress. Last week, in a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump accused the Supreme Court of “always” ruling against him.
“The Supreme Court has lost its honor, prestige, and standing, & has become nothing more than a political body, with our Country paying the price,” Trump said. “Shame on them!”
Chief Justice John Roberts had earlier blocked the committee from obtaining Trump’s taxes while the high court considered Trump’s request. The court later decided to “vacate” the request, paving the way for Congress to officially obtain the taxes.
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