WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th May, 2019) US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a letter to the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee said he will not release President Donald Trump's tax returns as requested by the panel.
"In reliance on the advice of the Department of Justice, I have determined that the Committee's request lacks a legitimate legislative purpose, and pursuant to section 6103, the Department is therefore not authorized to disclose the requested returns and return information," Mnuchin said in the letter to the US House of Representative Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal on Monday.
On April 3, the Ways and Means Committee requested the Treasury Department release confidential tax returns and other tax information of Trump and related business entities for the 2013-2018period.
Neal warned that a failure to respond to his request would be interpreted as a denial.
White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said in an interview with Fox news that this demand was a stunt and vowed that Congressional Democrats would never see Trump's tax records.
Congressional Democrats have long been trying to force Trump provide his tax returns, but the US president has repeatedly stated the documents were being audited by the Internal Revenue Service and thus could not be released.
