Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has officially declined to comply at this time with the House Ways and Means Committee’s request for Donald Trump's tax returns. In a letter to the committee’s chairman, Rep. Richard Neal, Mnuchin wrote that the "committee's request raises serious issues concerning the constitutional investigative authority, the legitimacy of the asserted legislative purpose and the constitutional rights of American citizens," and that Treasury was consulting with the Department of Justice on the lawfulness of the request.
Neal responded, basically, that he's got lawyers, too and what's more, it is not within Mnuchin's power to decide—it's up to the Internal Revenue Service commissioner. "I will consult with counsel and determine the appropriate response to the commissioner in the coming days," he responded in a statement. His possible responses include a subpoena or a lawsuit, an issue that could end up in the Supreme Court.
Trump continues to offer the lame excuse that he's under audit and can't release his returns, though he says, "I would love to give them." There is no law preventing a taxpayer from releasing their returns under audit. Just as there's no question that the law allows the Congress to request returns and related information of any tax filer, and the Treasury secretary "shall" instruct the IRS commissioner to furnish the requested information. "How many lawyers and how much time does it take for Secretary Mnuchin to understand that 'shall' means 'shall'?" asked Texas Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, also a Ways and Means Committee member. "Again, believing that he is above the law, Trump is engaged in obstruction."
Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers also says that this is not an issue in which Mnuchin should be intervening. "So for the secretary to seek to decide whether to pass on the president’s tax return to Congress would surely be inappropriate and probably illegal," he writes. "The statute is entirely clear regarding the right of the committee to request individual taxpayer information."
He also points out that the last time similar arguments were made on behalf of a sitting president, it was over audits of Richard Nixon's taxes, and his campaign made similar specious arguments that the 1972 election had solved the question of his returns. That's not a coincidence.