Wyden Statement on Trump Administration Obstruction of Tax Return Oversight

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released the following statement on the failure of the Treasury Department and IRS to comply with oversight of compliance with requests for tax return information under section 6103 of the tax code:

“In letters to Secretary Mnuchin and Commissioner Rettig, I asked a number of questions about compliance with congressional requests for tax return information. They included basic inquiries about whether the treasury secretary has been involved in compliance before and when political appointees learned of a memo prepared in advance of an expected congressional request for tax return information. I have received non-answers or no response at all, which is completely unacceptable.

“Congress has a constitutional obligation to conduct oversight of the executive branch, so I am placing a hold on Treasury Department nominees. A hearing for Brent McIntosh to be Undersecretary for International Affairs should also not move forward until I get answers. Mr. McIntosh was central to the Treasury Department’s decision making and without additional context on the process, committee members will not be able to ask informed questions.

“The administration’s blanket obstruction of all oversight as it relates to Donald Trump’s tax returns cannot go unanswered—Congress needs to take action to force the administration to comply with oversight.”

Wyden’s letter to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is available here, and the department’s response is available here.

Wyden’s letter to Commissioner Rettig is available here. The department did not respond by the June 11, 2019 deadline.

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