Wyden: Treasury Department Acknowledges Unprecedented Process on Trump Tax Return Request

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released the following statement on the Treasury Department’s cooperation with his investigation into political interference with the Ways & Means Committee’s request for President Trump’s tax return information under section 6103 of the tax code:

“The Treasury Department has finally cooperated with my investigation into political interference with the Ways & Means Committee’s request for President Trump’s tax returns and acknowledged the unprecedented process that led to its refusal to comply with a lawful request.

“The department’s initial responses to my oversight letters were misleading and incomplete, but after extensive back and forth, the department has confirmed three key points: The Treasury Secretary has never before been involved in responding to a request for tax returns under section 6103 of the tax code; the Office of Legal Counsel has never before been formally consulted on whether to comply with a specific 6103 request; and the Treasury Department has never before formally considered whether there is a legitimate legislative purpose behind a 6103 request.

“Additionally, the department acknowledged numerous examples of requests for tax return information under 6103 as part of investigations related to specific tax policy issues. This debunks the popular Republican talking point that 6103 is only used for big-picture statistical data.

“Taken together, this confirms that the Treasury Department has diverged from standard procedures in this case. From where I sit, the goal is to protect the president.

“Given that the department has responded to my oversight questions, I have agreed to allow the nominations hearing for Brett McIntosh, Brian Callanan, and Brian McGuire to move forward so I can ask them directly about their involvement in this and other troubling episodes.”

 The Treasury Department’s July 17 response is available here and here.

The Treasury Department’s June 27 response is available here and here.

Wyden’s original letter to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is available here, and the department’s initial May 28 response is available here.

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