This will up the ante in the House Ways & Means Committee’s lawsuit to get copies of 45*’s tax returns.
In an Aug. 8 letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Neal wrote that his committee had “received an unsolicited communication from a Federal employee setting forth credible allegations of ‘evidence of possible misconduct.'”
Those allegations go to “potential ‘inappropriate efforts to influence'” the IRS’s mandatory audit of every president, Neal wrote.
In response, Chairman Neal sent a sternly worded letter to Sec. Mnuchin, which has been filed with the case.
The Honorable Steven T. Mnuchin
Secretary
Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220
Dear Secretary Mnuchin,
As you are aware, the Committee on Ways and Means ("Committee") has legislative and oversight jurisdiction over the Department of the Treasury ("Treasury"), the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"), and the Federal tax laws and is currently investigating the mandatory examination of Presidents' and Vice-Presidents' income tax returns outlined in the Internal Revenue Manual ("mandatory audit program").
On July 29, 2019, the Committee received an unsolicited communication from a Federal employee setting forth credible allegations of "evidence of possible misconduct"-specifically, potential "inappropriate efforts to influence" the mandatory audit program. This is a grave charge that appreciably heightens the Committee's concerns about the absence of appropriate safeguards
as part of the mandatory audit program and whether statutory codification of such program or other remedial, legislative measures are warranted.
The Committee has raised these concerns repeatedly, both in prior correspondence as well as at the June 10 briefing with staff from both Treasury and the IRS. Commissioner Rettig, in his May 17, 2019 letter, responded that the "concern that IRS employees could be subject to undue influence when conducting mandatory audits of a President's tax returns" is "unfounded." The allegations received by the Committee cast doubt on this statement and underscore the pressing
need for complete and meaningful oversight of the mandatory audit program.
ln light of the serious and urgent concerns raised by this new information, I have requested,under separate cover, a rolling production of certain documents and communications of specified Treasury and IRS employees, with an initial production due August 13, 2019. Thank you, in advance, for your prompt attention to this matter.
Neal gave Mnuchin an Aug. 13 deadline to respond – on that day, according to another letter filed in the case, the Treasury secretary replied to say that he had referred the matter to the Treasury Secretary inspector general.
What IRC Sec. 180 excuse will Mnuchin & co. come up with this time as to why the requirement that presidential tax returns be made available to Congress (upon official request) will be ignored?