Rare law could make Trump taxes public
Committee exam of returns sought
A New Jersey congressman says a rarely invoked 1924 law could be used to examine President Donald Trump’s tax returns for possible conflicts of interest and Constitutional violations.
Rep. Bill Pascrell, a Democrat who serves on the Ways and Means Committee, has asked the committee’s chairman, Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, to order the Treasury Department to provide tax returns to the committee.
After privately examining returns — Pascrell is seeking 10 years’ worth — the committee could decide to share them with the full House, which would in effect make them public. The 1924 law gives congressional committees that set tax policy the power to examine tax returns. It was used in 1974 when Congress looked at President Richard Nixon’s returns, and in 2014 when the Ways and Means Committee released confidential tax information as part of its investigation into the Internal Revenue Service’s handling of applications for nonprofit status.
Trump said during the campaign he would not release his returns because he was being audited. After the inauguration, adviser Kellyanne Conway said he would not release them because the public did not care.
Pascrell said what happened in the election does not matter.
“This isn’t for the Democrats or the Republicans, and it’s not to embarrass anybody,” he said. “This is to make sure the American people know the facts, and if there are conflicts, they need to be resolved.”
Pascrell said he did not believe Trump has turned over control of his companies to his children, and even if he did, Pascrell agreed with ethics officials who oversee the executive branch that that is not sufficient to avoid conflicts.
Pascrell also said he believes Trump is violating the “emoluments clause” of the Constitution, which bars federal officials from receiving gifts or other things of value from foreign governments. He raised that issue in a Feb. 1 letter to Brady.
“We know that stateowned enterprises in China and the United Arab Emirates are involved in his businesses, and that his business ties stretch to India, Turkey and the Philippines and beyond,” Pascrell wrote. “Russia, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan may also have ties to his businesses.”
Pascrell said foreign governments are paying rents, licensing fees, and issuing permits for Trump Organization projects, all of which could be used to influence the president.
“If I get a ‘no’ answer on this, I’ll be very honest with you: If these guys think I’m walking away from this, they’re absolutely nuts,” Pascrell said. “The calls we’re getting, the calls other congressmen are getting, it’s unbelievable, we never expected this.”