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FORMER REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT Donald Trump must release his federal tax returns and those of his business entities to the House Ways and Means Committee, according to a new federal appeals court ruling.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled against Trump on Tuesday (a day after the FBI raided his private residence at Mar-a-Lago) after the former president appealed to protect his tax returns and documents related to his business dealings by arguing that the investigations against him are politically motivated.
The judicial panel voted 3-0 to determine that the House has the right to obtain Trump’s tax returns through the Treasury Department. The ruling applies to the Republican’s federal taxes between 2015 and 2020
However, the court gave Trump’s legal team seven days to introduce any kind of provision aimed at overturning the ruling.
Although tax returns are confidential under federal law, the court indicated that this rule is excepted when the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee requests such returns in writing to the secretary of the Treasury Department.
Judge David Sentelle wrote in the ruling that the Court found a “legitimate legislative purpose” for requesting former President Trump’s tax returns, and deems that the panel is not in the position to delve into the matter.
“The mere fact that individual members of Congress may have political motivations as well as legislative ones is of no moment,” Sentelle wrote in his opinion. “Indeed, it is likely rare that an individual member of Congress would work for a legislative purpose without considering the political implications.”
The chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Democrat Richard Neal (MA), issued a statement expressing his satisfaction with the ruling.
🚨 NEWS 🚨
It's official: The DC Court of Appeals ruled that Trump must hand over his tax returns to the Ways and Means Committee.
Read Chairman @RepRichardNeal's full statement here:https://t.co/9y3hT4gB3I pic.twitter.com/jOd81DCHJL
— Ways & Means Committee (@WaysMeansCmte) August 9, 2022
“With great patience, we followed the judicial process, and yet again, our position has been affirmed by the Courts.,” Neal said in his missive. “I’m pleased that this long-anticipated opinion makes clear the law is on our side. When we receive the returns, we will begin our oversight of the IRS’s mandatory presidential audit program.”
