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An appeals court on Tuesday authorized a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives to access the tax returns of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021).
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia dismissed the argument of Trump’s defense, which argued that, according to the statutes, when a congressional committee requests tax returns, it must have a legitimate legislative purpose.
In the court’s view, that committee’s request is in line with the purpose of its investigation and does not violate any separation of powers principles.
The House Committee on Ways and Means, which requested Trump’s 2019 tax returns, celebrated on Twitter that the court has determined that the law is on its side and hoped to receive those documents immediately.
The U.S. House of Representatives committee requested those records in 2019 to investigate his finances and possible conflicts of interest. The then Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, refused to provide them, which sparked court litigation.
In July 2021, the Justice Department had already ruled that the IRS must turn over those financial records, bringing the possibility of them being made public, now reinforced by the Court of Appeals.
The decision came a day after the FBI searched Trump’s mansion in Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, in southeast Florida, for documents that the Republican Party labeled political persecution.
