US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin refuses to give Trump's tax returns to Congress

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has officially refused to turn over six years of President Donald Trump’s tax filings to House Democrats, declaring their request lacked a “legitimate legislative purpose.”

The House Ways and Means Committee requested tax documents from Trump and several of his businesses for the years 2013 to 2018 last month, claiming they were necessary “to ensure the accountability of our government and elected officials,” but Trump’s administration refused to comply with the demand.

Mnuchin’s official refusal came in the form of a letter on Monday. He had previously ignored two deadlines set by the committee for turning over the returns, stating he would not give them up until it had been “determined to be consistent with law.”

“Investigatory power is not unlimited,” he told Congress in an earlier letter.

Committee chairman Richard Neal promised to “consult with counsel” to “determine the appropriate response” to Mnuchin’s refusal. Trump is the first president in 40 years to withhold his tax returns from public scrutiny, and Democrats have zeroed in on the documents as proof he has something to hide after the Mueller report disappointed those hoping for impeachment ammunition.

Trump has said he can’t release the documents because he is under audit, a claim he has made since the issue of his tax returns first arose during the 2016 campaign.

He sued last month to block a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee, claiming it had “no legitimate legislative purpose” other than to serve as a “weapon” in the “all-out political war” Democrats have been waging against his presidency.

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