Monday, April 8, 2019

Never Say “Never”

Via the Washington Post:

Trump’s acting chief of staff said Sunday that Democrats will “never” see the president’s tax returns, abandoning Trump’s long-held position that he would someday release the documents for public inspection and setting up what could be a protracted fight with Congress.

Mick Mulvaney and other Trump allies spent the weekend casting Democrats as politically motivated for formally asking the Internal Revenue Service to turn over six years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns. House Democrats last week asked the IRS to release the documents, setting a deadline of Wednesday, part of an ongoing battle with the White House as they seek information about Trump for numerous investigations into his businesses, campaign and conduct.

The Trump administration has been trying to shield the president from such inquiries, and Mulvaney was adamant that Democrats won’t ever gain access to Trump’s tax returns. When asked about it on “Fox News Sunday,” Mulvaney said: “Never. Nor should they.”

Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what Nixon’s cronies said about the White House tapes in 1974, and guess what happened.  This may go all the way to the Supreme Court and it may not be determined until after he’s out of office, but eventually the House is going to get what it has a legal right to demand to see.

Whether or not they will be made public is another matter, but that’s not what’s at stake here.  It’s whether or not one co-equal branch of government can shut down the work of another.

Over to you, James Madison.