Democrats Turn The Tables And Blow Up Trump’s Effort To Hide His Tax Returns

Last updated on March 8th, 2019 at 12:06 pm

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House Democrats turned the argument against releasing Trump‘s tax returns around on both the White House and Republicans in Congress.

Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) who serves on the House Ways and Means Committee explained why Democrats had been forced by Trump to go after his tax returns.

This is a law that has been on the books since the Teapot Dome scandal. There’s no slippery slope here. What is out of the norm is that the President Of the United States, who committed to provide his returns, has broken with a half a century of tradition and transparency. That’s what’s out of sync with reality. And the fact that Mr. Brady, whom I respect but happen to disagree with on this, would point out that we are using the tool when the fact that we have to use it is because this president is so opaque when it comes to his personal interests.

He continues to maintain, by the way, complete control over all of his financial holdings, another norm that has broken. He pushed through a tax law that significantly benefited real estate investors. He’s one of them. The idea that this would be somehow out of bounds means that the law itself must not be valid. The reason that this law is in place is just for this circumstance.

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Democrats have to go after Trump‘s tax returns because he refused to release them and he has maintained control of his business interests. Democrats aren’t breaking with precedent. They are investigating a president who has shattered fifty years of norms. Trump is the perpetrator, not the victim, and Democrats are the investigators who are trying to get to the truth.

Trump could release his tax returns tomorrow, but since refuses to do so, while rife conflicts of interest, it is up to House Democrats to clean up this cesspool of Trump corruption.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association