Opinion: The wonderful illogic of Trump’s hidden tax returns
By James Downie James Downie Digital opinions editor Email Bio Follow Opinions editor April 7 at 5:12 PM With the House Ways and Means Committee chairman requesting President Trump’s tax returns on Wednesday, the White House’s representatives were tasked with explaining how the president could refuse to release them. They did so with a healthy dose of classic Trumpian spin.
Besides, acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told “Fox News Sunday,” “That’s an issue that was already litigated during the election. Voters knew the president could have given his tax returns, they knew that he didn’t, and they elected him anyway, which is, of course, what drives the Democrats crazy.” Yes, “the election.” Never mind that other election that happened more recently, in which voters gave Democrats the power to subpoena Trump’s returns.
But fear not, the president’s personal lawyer Jay Sekulow has hit upon a novel approach to oversight: If Democrats “want to know if the IRS is doing its job and auditing the president,” he said on ABC’s “This Week,” “well, they could ask the IRS, what job are they doing?” It’s a stroke of genius from Sekulow: Just ask an agency whether they’re operating by the book, but don’t waste time checking whether their answers are truthful! Think of the time this will save future Congresses.
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