Trump tax returns a Dem distraction

It is no secret that the Democrats have not gotten over the 2016 presidential election. On that November day, the #Resistance movement started and it has kept right on going, desperately trying to undo what was done: the presidency of Donald Trump.

Now that they enjoy a majority in the House of Representatives, Democrats have at their disposal a slew of tools to use in order to harangue and harass the president with the ultimate hope that they can unearth some evidence of criminality somewhere. Anywhere.

And so it is that Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Richard Neal, the head of the House Ways and Means Committee, is leading the charge to get his hands on President Trump’s tax returns. Neal will go ahead with maneuvers that will put into play a big legal battle with Team Trump, which will claim a right to privacy on the issue and accuse Dems of launching a political with hunt.

As The Associated Press reported, battle lines have been drawn. “In reality, this is all about weaponizing our tax laws to attack a political foe,” Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) said at the hearing by the Ways and Means oversight subcommittee.

“A strong case is being built,” William Tranghese, an aide to Neal, told the AP this week. He said Neal is consulting with lawyers for the House “to determine the appropriate legal steps to go forward with this unprecedented request.”

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), chairman of the oversight subcommittee, said the American public is intensely interested in the subject. “We ask the question: Does the public have a need to know that a person seeking or holding the highest office in our country obeys the tax laws?”

It is true that Trump refused to release his tax returns during the campaign, which is a rarity. There is no doubt that he does not want his returns released, whether it is for fear that there is impropriety within the pages or perhaps they will reveal something embarrassing.

It may be cynical for a candidate to refuse to be fully transparent but that fact was baked into this particular nominee and those who voted for him cared not one bit.

It is also cynical for Democrats to embark on the most craven political course possible the moment they gain power.

In either case, if there is a year in which our politics are better than this, it is not this year. And so here we go again, continuing to try to right the wrongs of Nov. 8, 2016.