llovejim
Current Champion
I wonder what constitution she was reading when she read that? certainly not the one we use here in this country...maybe Russia...
Federal appeals court upholds House subpoena for Trump’s financial records
A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a subpoena for President Donald Trump’s financial records from the Democrat-controlled House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
The 2-1 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Trump’s bid to block the committee from getting eight years’ worth of his financial records from the accounting firm Mazars USA.
The committee on April 15 issued Mazars a subpoena for various financial statements related to the Trump Organization, the Trump Corporation and the Trump Old Post Office in Washington.
“Contrary to the President’s arguments, the Committee possesses authority under both the House Rules and the Constitution to issue the subpoena, and Mazars must comply,” Judge David Tatel wrote in the majority opinion.
“We conclude that in issuing the challenged subpoena, the Committee was engaged in a ‘legitimate legislative investigation,’ ” wrote Tatel, who was joined by Judge Patricia Millett in the majority decision.
Tatel was appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton; Millett was appointed by President Barack Obama.
The dissenting opinion came from Judge Neomi Rao, who was appointed by Trump.
Federal appeals court upholds House subpoena for Trump's financial records
The subpoena was issued earlier this year to Trump's accountants at Mazars USA by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
www.cnbc.com
Trump, unlike other presidents in recent decades, has refused to make his returns public. He also has refused to divest himself of businesses and investments that could pose domestic or international conflicts of interest. For example, the Trump International Hotel, located just blocks from the White House, regularly hosts events with foreign diplomats, interest groups and industry associations.
By law, taxpayer information is supposed to remain confidential. But as University of Virginia law professor George Yin, author of a 2017 article on the law, told NPR, Congress didn't like being dependent on the executive branch to provide tax records.
When the "committee access" provision, as it's known, became law in 1924, Congress had been dealing with taxpayers' information in the Teapot Dome scandal afflicting the Harding administration and in a controversy involving former Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon. Like Trump, he had served in government while refusing to avoid conflicts of interest by letting go of his holdings.
The committee access provision has rarely been invoked, but here's how it would work:
Congress Really Can Demand, And Get, Trump's Tax Returns. Here's How
Three House and Senate committees have "the unqualified right" to request taxpayers' returns from the IRS. There's no provision exempting the president.
www.npr.org
Federal appeals court upholds House subpoena for Trump’s financial records
- A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., upheld a subpoena for President Donald Trump’s financial records from the Democrat-controlled House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
- The split ruling rejected Trump’s bid to block the committee from getting eight years’ worth of his records from the accounting firm Mazars USA.
- Trump also is fighting a subpoena for his corporate and personal income tax returns, which Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. wants for a probe of hush money payments paid porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.
A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a subpoena for President Donald Trump’s financial records from the Democrat-controlled House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
The 2-1 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Trump’s bid to block the committee from getting eight years’ worth of his financial records from the accounting firm Mazars USA.
The committee on April 15 issued Mazars a subpoena for various financial statements related to the Trump Organization, the Trump Corporation and the Trump Old Post Office in Washington.
“Contrary to the President’s arguments, the Committee possesses authority under both the House Rules and the Constitution to issue the subpoena, and Mazars must comply,” Judge David Tatel wrote in the majority opinion.
“We conclude that in issuing the challenged subpoena, the Committee was engaged in a ‘legitimate legislative investigation,’ ” wrote Tatel, who was joined by Judge Patricia Millett in the majority decision.
Tatel was appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton; Millett was appointed by President Barack Obama.
The dissenting opinion came from Judge Neomi Rao, who was appointed by Trump.
Federal appeals court upholds House subpoena for Trump's financial records
The subpoena was issued earlier this year to Trump's accountants at Mazars USA by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
Trump, unlike other presidents in recent decades, has refused to make his returns public. He also has refused to divest himself of businesses and investments that could pose domestic or international conflicts of interest. For example, the Trump International Hotel, located just blocks from the White House, regularly hosts events with foreign diplomats, interest groups and industry associations.
By law, taxpayer information is supposed to remain confidential. But as University of Virginia law professor George Yin, author of a 2017 article on the law, told NPR, Congress didn't like being dependent on the executive branch to provide tax records.
When the "committee access" provision, as it's known, became law in 1924, Congress had been dealing with taxpayers' information in the Teapot Dome scandal afflicting the Harding administration and in a controversy involving former Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon. Like Trump, he had served in government while refusing to avoid conflicts of interest by letting go of his holdings.
The committee access provision has rarely been invoked, but here's how it would work:
- For the party in control of the House or Senate, making the request is easy. It would come from the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee (the House panel that writes tax law), Senate Finance Committee or Joint Committee on Taxation. Democrats have been badgering the Republican chairs of those panels to act since February 2017 without success.
- Once a request is made, no floor action is necessary. The request would go to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who oversees the IRS — not to the taxpayer in the Oval Office, who would officially be out of the loop. Yin said the 1924 law "gave the tax committees the unqualified right to request the tax returns of any taxpayer."
Congress Really Can Demand, And Get, Trump's Tax Returns. Here's How
Three House and Senate committees have "the unqualified right" to request taxpayers' returns from the IRS. There's no provision exempting the president.