House Resolution on Contempt Barr, McGahn Could Alleviate Democrats' Burden for Trump Tax Returns

The House Democrats' resolution to hold Attorney General Bill Barr and former White House lawyer Don McGahn in contempt will include wording that could grease the groundwork for a future trial. Democrats seeking to get the The tax returns of President Donald Trump.

It will include provisions to clarify the rules of the House that a group of party leaders known as the Bipartite Legal Advisory Group, made up of the top five leaders of the House, can authorize prosecutions, said a Democratic assistant, which has been challenged by legal experts. .

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The Democrats intend to sue to impose a subpoena to Trump's tax records, which the administration has denied, but lawmakers must first authorize the lawsuit. This could be done with a vote of the whole House, but it would be faster to let BLAG handle it. Some experts, however, wondered whether this was allowed by the rules of the chamber.

The Democrats have not yet decided how they intend to proceed to authorize the trial, said an assistant.

Democrats have been demanding for the last six years Trump's personal documents and some of his professional background under a 1924 law allowing congressional tax officials to examine anyone's private records. The administration dismissed the subpoena, claiming that the Democrats had no legitimate legislative reason to ask for the deposits.

House Democrats plan to vote on the contempt resolution next Tuesday. Once BLAG or the entire House agrees, the Attorney General of the House, Douglas Letter, should bring a lawsuit on behalf of the Democrats for Trump's return.

In addition, Senator Ron Wyden on Tuesday sent a letter to Commissioner Charles Rettig of the IRS, demanding to know who, at the agency, had seen a draft of a memo leaked the month last by the Washington Post, according to which the administration was to hand over Trump's records, unless he invoked the privilege of executive power.

"Congress needs to investigate whether Trump's appointees have been hiding out to conceal political interference within the IRS," Wyden said in a statement. "IRS officials have prepared a legal analysis stating that the agency was required to provide the reports, and it was buried.We must know who saw this memo and when."