Trump hires new lawyer who says not to hand over tax returns as Democrats demand
Beleaguered Donald Trump has hired a new lawyer, who has apparently told old Donnie he shouldn't give over his tax returns to Dems.
"The Tax Code zealously guards taxpayer privacy," the new Trump attorney William S. Consovoy says in his letter. "It would be a gross abuse of power for the majority party to use tax returns as a weapon to attack, harass, and intimidate their political opponents."
So, DARVO, as usual. Deny (and delay!), attack, reverse victim and offender.
From Josh Dawsey and Jill Stein at the Washington Post:
An attorney for President Trump on Friday told the Treasury Department it should not turn over the president's tax returns until it receives a legal opinion from the Justice Department, calling on Treasury to deny Democrats' demands for 6 years of the president's records.
William S. Consovoy, the attorney, attacked the request from Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, as a "gross abuse of power," arguing it risks encroaching on taxpayers' privacy.
On Wednesday, Neal formally requested that the Internal Revenue Service, which is part of the Treasury Department, turn over six years of Trump's personal and business tax returns.
A 1924 law cited by Neal states that the treasury secretary "shall furnish .".". any return or return information specified" in a request from the head of the House or Senate tax-writing committees.
But Trump has for months signaled he would resist attempts to compel him to turn over his taxes. And Friday's letter from Consovoy states that the IRS should wait for a "formal legal opinion" from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel before divulging the returns.
The letter from his attorney, addressed to Treasury general counsel Brent J. McIntosh, echoes arguments made for months by congressional Republicans.
The strategy, as one source says in the story, is to delay all of this until after the 2020 Presidential elections.
Read the rest of the WaPo story: Trump lawyer calls on Treasury to reject Democrats' demand for tax returns until Justice Department weighs in
More from reporters on Twitter below.
Trump just moments ago on Dem request for tax returns. "Nothing whatsoever, have nothing to say about it... I got elected. They elected me. Now they keep going. I'm under audit. When you're under audit you don't do it... I always go through audit so you audit me all the time."
- Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 5, 2019
Trump has new counsel helping on the congressional tax demand. Here's their response: pic.twitter.com/8wjO5wbd7m
- Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 5, 2019
new: Jay Sekulow, a Trump lawyer who defended POTUS in the Mueller probe, tells me he's "overseeing" Trump's legal defense against House Dems demanding his & his business empire tax returns. William Consovoy, another Trump personal lawyer, is taking lead: https://t.co/TSA2gV06gH https://t.co/DXYOPjGTNH
- Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24) April 5, 2019
Sekulow says it's unclear at this time what role the White House Counsel's office will play in this going forward, given that the congressional request includes years during which Trump was already in office. https://t.co/TGBT3o0p30
- Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24) April 5, 2019