Donald Trump has claimed, again and again, that he couldn’t—or, anyway, wouldn’t—release his tax returns because he was under audit. But, the IRS commissioner says, an audit isn't a problem for releasing tax returns.
There is ”no rule that would prohibit the release of a tax return because it's under audit,” IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig told a House Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday. On Wednesday, as the IRS faced a deadline for turning over Trump’s tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee following a lawful request for them, Trump repeated himself again. “I would love to give them, but I’m not going to do it while I’m under audit,” Trump said.
But the House Ways and Means Committee isn’t asking Trump to provide his tax returns. It’s asking the IRS to, as the law allows. So there shouldn’t be a problem—unless Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin decides to put loyalty to Trump above the law.