An attorney for former President Donald Trump objected to the release of his client’s tax returns to Congress.
Ronald Fischetti, Trump’s attorney, signaled the onset of a new legal fight over access to the former president’s financial information after the Justice Department concluded in an opinion that the Treasury Department and the IRS should comply with the House Ways and Means Committee’s request.
“There is no evidence of any wrongdoing here, and I object to the release of the returns not only on behalf of my client but on behalf of all future holders of the office of the president of the United States,” Fischetti told the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
DOJ SAYS TRUMP TAX RETURNS MUST BE GIVEN TO CONGRESS
Dawn Johnsen, the acting assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel, announced the Justice Department’s position on Friday following a June 16 petition from the Democratic-led committee. However, she indicated any attempts to embarrass the former president would invalidate the request.
The Treasury Department told a federal judge it intended to comply with the House Ways and Means Committee’s plea for eight years of the former president’s tax history. The U.S. district court judge, Trevor McFadden, asked lawyers for Trump and Congress to appear on Wednesday to discuss a timeline for arguments.
If lawmakers in Washington, D.C., were to receive the records, some may be released to the public, unlike the investigations into Trump’s business empire in New York.
Fischetti blasted the effort by representatives, which began in 2019 while Trump was in office, and raised concerns that little has shifted since their initial petition to receive the tax history was denied.
“What’s changed?” he said. “This has been ongoing for years.”
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, among others, celebrated the DOJ’s decision.
“Access to former President Trump’s tax returns is a matter of national security,” she said in a statement. “The American people deserve to know the facts of his conflicts of interest and undermining of our security and democracy as president.”
