The Treasury Department missed the second deadline imposed by House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., for 5 p.m. Tuesday to turn over President Trump’s tax returns.
But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked Neal for additional time, rather than outright denying his request.
In a letter to Neal sent Tuesday evening, Mnuchin said he is consulting with the Justice Department over the request and asked for an extension until May 6 to give a definitive response.
Mnuchin said that Neal’s request is “unprecedented” and that “the Department cannot act upon your request unless and until it is determined to be consistent with the law.”
The Treasury secretary went on to outline “concerns” about Neal’s request due to past statements made by House Democrats seeking to publicize Trump’s tax returns and that “Article I [of the Constitution] grants Congress no express power to investigate.”
Mnuchin said that he considers the evidence of Neal’s stated legislative purpose behind the request as “pretext for a constitutionally suspect one.”
Mnuchin’s response could well be the final event before the back-and-forth between the House tax policy committee and Treasury moves to court. In a brief statement, Neal said that he plans “to consult with counsel about my next steps.”
Neal made his demand under a law that empowers him, as chairman of the committee, to request to review the returns of any taxpayer. That same law places tight limits on the disclosure of information related to those returns.
Trump attorney William Consovoy had called the Ways and Means Committee “junior-varsity” in an escalation of the three-way standoff between House Democrats, the Treasury Department, and Trump’s personal attorneys. Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has signaled that Trump would continue to fight the tax returns request up to the Supreme Court.
Neal has argued that his request serves multiple legitimate purposes, including determining whether the IRS is actually auditing Trump, as its own rules mandate the audit of sitting presidents. Neal also wants to determine if Trump’s businesses are being audited by the IRS.
