House Democrats are planning to try to force President Donald Trump to release his tax returns by requiring that all presidential candidates disclose 10 years of tax returns before they can become a party’s nominee, CNN reports.
Democrats will include a provision in a new rules bill that would require both the presidential nominee and vice presidential nominee to release a decade of tax returns before they can be nominated. The tax returns would be posted on the Federal Election Commission’s website.
Democrats previously introduced a bill last year that would have required candidates to release three years of tax returns.
The provision would be included in the Democrats’ new rules bill that makes a number of ethics changes and addresses voting rights and health care. The bill is not expected to be passed by the Senate or be signed by Trump.
Because of the government shutdown, a hearing on the tax returns portion may be pushed back to late January or early February.
Democrats have a Plan B too:
“While Democrats take a legislative approach, they are fully aware that it isn't likely to be signed into law,” CNN reported. “The House Ways and Means Committee is also pursuing another route to obtain Trump's tax returns. Democrats believe under an obscure IRS rule, the incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, has the power to obtain the returns from the Treasury Department. Neal has said he plans to ask for them in the new Congress, but when exactly he'd make his move is still under discussion.”
Democrats plan major offensive:
“Just before the holidays, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee, sent 51 letters to the Trump administration and other entities demanding ‘full compliance’ with pre-existing requests for information and documents pertaining to a slew of issues and unanswered questions,” ShareBlue reported. “Many of the requests for information stem from previous inquiries from Republicans which the White House ignored, and which the GOP failed to pursue.”
