Advertisement

Updated December 15th, 2021 at 15:38 IST

US judge dismisses Donald Trump's bid to withhold his tax returns from Congress

A US federal judge on Tuesday dismissed former President Donald Trump’s legal campaign to prevent Congress from gaining access to his tax returns

Reported by: Bhavya Sukheja
US
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
Advertisement

A US federal judge on Tuesday dismissed former President Donald Trump’s legal campaign to prevent Congress from gaining access to his tax returns. According to The Hill, Judge Trevor McFadden, who was appointed by Trump, said that the former President’s legal team which has been fighting the Democrats’ efforts to see his tax filing for years, were “wrong on the law”. He said that “facially valid” Congressional inquiries should not be impeded. 

“A long line of Supreme Court cases requires great deference to facially valid congressional inquiries. Even the special solicitude accorded former Presidents does not alter the outcome," McFadden wrote in a 45-page opinion, adding that “the Court will therefore dismiss this case."

The US federal judge stayed the execution of his ruling for 14-days in a bid to allow the two parties in the case to discuss the next steps. McFadden also instructed the executive branch to not provide House Democrats with Trump’s tax returns dung that period of time. Now, it is pertinent to mention that while the ruling is a win for House Democrats, it could still be a while before they receive the former President’s tax returns because if both the parties in the case don’t reach an agreement on the next steps within two weeks, Trump can seek relief from an appeals court. 

Following the court ruling, Democratic Congressman Richard Neal, the lawmaker who requested Trump’s tax return from the IRS, said that the ruling was “no surprise, the law is clearly on the Committee’s side”. In a statement, Neal added that he was pleased that the Democrats are now one step closer to being able to conduct more thorough oversight of the IRS’s mandatory presidential audit program. 

Court sides with Biden administration 

Back in August, the Justice Department had ordered the Treasury to provide the congressional committee with six years of records that Trump had refused to make public. Notably, it is IRS policy to conduct mandatory audits of presidents, however, it is not required by the law. Therefore, the Trump administration had rejected Democrats’ efforts, arguing that the request lacked a legitimate legislative purpose. 

In his personal capacity, the former US President sought to block Treasury and the IRS from turning over the tax return. However, the Ways and Means Committee, along with the Biden administration, sought to dismiss Trump’s claims and on Tuesday, McFadden sided with them. 

But in his decision, McFadden expressed reservations about allowing the IRS to hand over Trump’s tax returns. His ruling came with a cautionary note against the move. He wrote, "It might not be right or wise to publish the returns, but it is the Chairman's right to do so.” "Congress has granted him this extraordinary power, and courts are loath to second guess congressional motives or duly enacted statutes. The Court will not do so here and thus must dismiss this case," he said.

(Image: AP)

Advertisement

Published December 15th, 2021 at 15:38 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Zomato delivery boy in tears over blocked account
11 minutes ago
Delhi: Man Arrested For Killing A Man During Pub Fight In Pitampura Bar
12 minutes ago
Congress Press Conference
12 minutes ago
L&T Shipbuilding facility
19 minutes ago
RCB vs KKR
20 minutes ago
Pooja Vastrakar
21 minutes ago
Crew posters
an hour ago
Big Communication Gap Within the Congress: Sanjay Nirupam Targets Party Leadership | EXCLUSIVE
an hour ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo