Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) reintroduced a bill Thursday that would force sitting presidents to release their tax returns publicly.
Wyden first proposed the measure after Trump became the all-but-assured Republican nominee in May 2016.
The bill would require both sitting presidents and presidential nominees to disclose their tax returns. Wyden’s reintroduction of the bill follows on a House proposal to require presidential nominees to disclose the past 10 years of their tax returns.
At the same time, the battle over Trump’s tax returns is set to heat up. Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), the incoming chair of the Ways and Means Committee, is the only Democrat in Congress with the authority to request Trump’s returns from the Treasury Department, a move he is expected to take, though the timing remains unclear.
That request will likely be turned down by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, setting the stage for a protracted legal battle.
In a statement, Wyden referred to his Senate bill as a move that would “ensure public transparency if Trump’s tax returns get tied up in court.”
Not sure why this is necessary: https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/05/politics/trump-tax-returns/index.html
The key quote from the link:
This statute resulted from the Teapot Dome scandal in the 1920’s, when President Warren Harding protected one of his cronies from a Congressional demand for his tax returns. If Wyden doesn’t know about this, he should.
Necessary in case Ways & Means refuses to do the right thing?
Disclosure of tax returns should be mandated for anyone running for (as well as holding) federal office, period.
I can appreciate Neal’s restraint at this moment.
But if he thinks we donated and voted so he could pull his punches, he will need to find another line of work in 2020.
Trump is a criminal. He belongs in prison. His taxes are likely fraudulent, and almost certainly contain evidence of his decades of criminality. The public is entitled to see the taxes of the president, and anyone who stands to become president, period.
I thought there were indications months ago that Mueller probably had his taxes. But, then, Mueller’s not revealing this, yet.
@nemo When you think you’re King of the Forest, nothing applies.
It’s addressed in the article.
Last three paragraphs.