New Jersey Democrat Bill Pascrell had a message for Steve Mnuchin to deliver to Donald Trump on seeing his tax returns delivered to Congress: "Get ready."
It was a testy hearing, and Mnuchin looked like a fish out of water in more ways than one. NY Times:
During an occasionally testy hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Mnuchin was peppered with questions from Democrats about whether he believes Congress has the authority to access the tax returns of American citizens in general and the president in particular.
Mr. Mnuchin told lawmakers that if a request were made he would consult the Treasury Department’s legal team and follow the law. But he indicated that taxpayer privacy, including that of the president, is paramount.
“We will protect the president as we would protect any individual taxpayer under their rights,” Mr. Mnuchin said.
This is nonsense. The House Ways and Means committee has the right to receive anyone's tax returns from the IRS for the purpose of determining legislative decisions. "Did Donald Trump personally benefit from his own tax cut?" is a necessary legislative query, and Mnuchin knows it. Mnuchin's claim that Treasury has never received a request like this before is true, dumbass, because no modern so-called president has hidden his tax returns from the public, let alone from the Congress.
Get ready, indeed.
