The tax returns of former President Donald Trump, who has always refused to make them public, must be sent to a congressional committee, the US Department of Justice ordered on Friday, July 30.
A committee of the House of Representatives which deals with budgetary matters “ has presented sufficient reasons to request the tax data from the former president and the Treasury must provide him with this information “, estimates the ministry in a memorandum.
Unlike all of his predecessors since the 1970s, Donald Trump refuses to publish his tax returns. Its lack of transparency fuels speculation on the extent of its wealth or on potential conflicts of interest.
To try to find out more, three committees of the House of Representatives, controlled by the Democrats, had asked in 2019 the accounting firm Mazars, but also the banks Deutsche Bank and Capital One, a whole series of financial documents relating to the business. of Donald Trump between 2010 and 2018, and those of his relatives. The commission to which the ministry memorandum relates more specifically calls for six years of tax declarations as part of its power to audit tax services.
Closed investigation
At the same time, Manhattan prosecutor Cyrus Vance also claimed Donald Trump’s financial records as part of an investigation into possible violations of New York laws. Arguing about his presidential immunity and the separation of powers, Donald Trump had fought on all these fronts, going twice to the Supreme Court which, in February, authorized the transmission of certain documents to the new justice system. Yorker. As the investigation takes place behind closed doors, this information remains protected by secrecy.
He could again present appeals to oppose the order of the Ministry of Justice, but his intentions were not yet known on Friday.
Without waiting to know them, the Democratic President of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, welcomed “A victory for the rule of law”. “Americans deserve to know the facts about the troubling conflicts of interest which, under his presidency, have undermined our security and our democracy.”, she said in a statement.