Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries: “The President Is Behaving Like a King” by Withholding His Tax Returns

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments today about Donald Trump’s tax returns. It’s not clear how the justices will vote, but Democrat Hakeem Jeffries has made his position clear.

The New York Congressman tweeted as the justices began grilling lawyers for Congress and the President on Tuesday.

“Every single President since Richard Nixon has made their tax returns public,” Jeffries said.

“The House lawfully requested that Trump do the same.”

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“He refused. The President is acting like a King,” Jeffries charged.

“But this is a democracy. No one is above the law.”

Jeffries is correct that every president since Nixon has released their tax returns. This is also true of the presidential candidates from the two major political parties.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives is seeking to compel the Trump administration to hand over his tax returns. Arguments before the Supreme Court were ongoing at the time of writing.

Justice Elena Kagan, who was appointed by Barack Obama, suggested on Tuesday that the administration wanted to give the President a way to avoid Congressional oversight.

“You’re asking us to do is to put a kind of 10 ton weight on the scales between the President and Congress and essentially to make it impossible to perform oversight and to carry out its functions where the president is concerned,” Kagan said.

Trump repeatedly said he would release his taxes when they were not under audit. However, no tax records have been forthcoming, while there is no rule saying returns under audit cannot be released.

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Darragh Roche

Darragh Roche is a journalist covering U.S. politics and media