Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that he was not aware of an internal memo from the IRS saying that the administration had no choice but to comply with a congressional request for President Trump’s tax returns. Mnuchin has refused Democratic demands for Trump’s tax information.
“I and the [IRS] commissioner were not aware of that letter,” Mnuchin said during testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. “We’re trying to find out who wrote the memo … and why it wasn’t distributed, yes.”
The memo reportedly concluded that the secretary did not have a choice but to provide Trump’s tax returns upon request from the chairmen of the House and Senate tax policy committees. It said that Trump would need to assert executive privilege over the documents in order to block the request.
Mnuchin claimed not to have heard of the memo until Monday, when reporters called to inquire.
Last month, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., formally used the law that the IRS memo analyzed to request Trump’s tax returns. Mnuchin denied the request, citing private Justice Department guidance. Neal followed up with a subpoena for the returns from both Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, which they have have resisted. The deadline for the subpoena passed last Friday.
“I am not violating the law, and I never would have done anything to violate the law,” Mnuchin said. “I think that would be unlawful as advised by the Department of Justice.”
