After all the murders he either committed or was at least behind, after all the bootleg liquor he smuggled, the money he extorted, the prostitution rings he had a hand in, it was tax evasion that ultimately sent the notorious mobster Al Capone to prison.
Could the same fate befall Donald Trump, or least those covering for him?
On Saturday, House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal sent another letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig demanding his agency comply with the law and release six years of Trump’s tax returns by 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 23.
This came after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin refused last week to comply with an initial request, stating:
“The committee’s request raises serious issues concerning the constitutional investigative authority, the legitimacy of the asserted legislative purpose and the constitutional rights of American citizens. The legal implications of this request could affect protections for all Americans against politically motivated disclosures of tax information, regardless of which party is in power.”
There is no “serious issue concerning constitutional investigative authority.”
Congress is acting on authority granted in the IRS Code section 6103(f):
“Upon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate, or the chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the [Treasury] Secretary shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request, except that any return or return information which can be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer shall be furnished to such committee only when sitting in closed executive session unless such taxpayer otherwise consents in writing to such disclosure.“
This does not exclude anyone.
Not even the President of the United States.
Trump told a reporter “No, there is no law” when asked if federal law requires him to hand over his tax returns.
But Tax Analysts historian Joseph J. Thorndike argued:
“Despite what the president said, there is a law.”
The last president from whom Congress requested tax returns was Richard Nixon, who complied, revealing he owed $477,000 in additional taxes.
“So there is good historical reason to be concerned,” Thorndike concluded.
If Mnuchin refuses to comply with Congress, he will be violating federal law, which means he can be prosecuted.
IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig could be as well.
But while Trump and company toy with Congress, several states are considering legislation requiring 2020 presidential candidates to release their tax returns lest they be excluded from the ballot.
According to The Washington Post:
“Eighteen states have considered legislation this year that would require presidential and vice presidential candidates to post their tax returns to appear on the ballot during a primary or general election, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
“In addition to Washington, several other states, including California, Hawaii and New Jersey are considering similar bills. Many, though not all, of the legislatures considering the bills are controlled by Democrats, but even in Republican-controlled states, Democrats have put forth such legislation. Measures failed earlier this year in Mississippi, New Mexico and New Hampshire.”
No one has ever defied this explicit law before.
Trump obviously does not want us to see…what?
That he isn’t as rich as he says he is?
That he’s still deeply in debt?
That he owes money to entities with whom no honest person would even consider doing business?
All three?
Maybe more.
His intransigence could be his–and his underlings’–undoing, ultimately.
Image credit: Pixabay
