WASHINGTON | A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday rejected former President Donald Trump’s request to prevent Congress from obtaining his tax returns, court documents show.
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This decision by Judge Trevor McFadden of a Washington court – appointed by Donald Trump during his presidency – is a major setback for Donald Trump who fought tooth and nail not to make his tax returns public, despite his campaign promise in 2016.
According to the former Republican president, the request for access emanating from the Democratic-majority House of Representatives has partisan motives.
For the elected Democrat Richard Neal, president of the parliamentary committee wishing to consult the tax file of Donald Trump, the decision of the judge “is not a surprise”.
“The law is clearly on the side of the commission,” he said.
The Justice Department ordered the U.S. Treasury in August to provide the parliamentary committee with the billionaire’s six-year tax documents that Donald Trump refused to release.
US Presidents are under no legal obligation to release details of their personal finances, but every White House occupant since Richard Nixon in the 1970s has. Other than Mr. Trump.
The parliamentary committee has the right to make tax returns public, but Judge Trevor McFadden’s ruling also contains a cautionary note.
“It may not be correct or advisable to publish the tax returns but it is the right of the president (of the commission) to do so”, underlined the magistrate.
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