House Democrats Lose Their Offer Due to Fast Track Process on Trump Tax Returns

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A US judge on Thursday refused to take action on the US congressional lawsuit to force disclosure of Donald Trump 's federal income tax returns, saying it was "deadly". a complex and important case that we should not rush.

US District Judge Trevor McFadden in Washington said in a written order that under US law, there was "only a narrow set of cases to be dealt with that were to come to the fore "and that the Committee of Ways and Means of the House of Representatives had not shown his trial was one of them.

McFadden said that, even if he was not prejudging the case, Trump's defenses "would probably not be as trivial as they would warrant a rush to the bottom of the case."

In a report tabled on August 20, the House Ways and Means Committee, led by the Democratic Party, said that "time is running out" to resolve the case it brought last month for the purpose of compelling the Treasury Department to hand over years of individual and commercial relations to the Republican President. federal income tax returns.

In the filing, the committee's lawyers stated that the current Congress would end on January 3, 2021 and that it was necessary to quickly resolve the issues in the case in order to give the committee sufficient time to investigate Trump's tax returns and pass any law in response.

Department of Justice lawyers, in coordination with Trump's personal attorneys, had proposed a step-by-step approach to hearing the arguments in this case, which had been objected to by the House Committee's legal team. .

The committee filed a lawsuit after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin challenged the subpoenas to appear in Congress, despite the federal law that says the ministry will "provide" such documents upon request.

The lawsuit began what should be a long legal battle that could end in the US Supreme Court.

In a June advisory legal opinion, the Department of Justice stated that the committee did not have a "legitimate legislative objective" in searching for Trump's tax returns and that Mnuchin did not violate the law. refusing to provide them.

Jay Sekulow, one of Trump's personal attorneys, called the committee's efforts "presidential harassment" last month.

Before Trump, modern US presidential candidates usually leaked their tax returns during their campaigns.

Ways and Means is one of half a dozen House investigative committees involving Trump and his administration.

The White House refuses to cooperate with most of them, setting up several legal battles that take place in court.