U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden was appointed by Trump. He claims that Democrats are trying to obtain his tax returns by attempting to affect politics
A federal judge appeared to suggest asking for Donald Trump to turn over his tax returns to Congress is a partisan request – claiming if the House flips red they could request Hunter Biden’s financial disclosures.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden was a Trump appointee who questioned whether the House Ways and Means Committee sued in a lengthy-running case.
“If Congress moves in the next couple of years and a Republican Chairman of Ways and Means Committee requests Hunter Biden’s tax returns, will we not just say “Oh, sure.” We have to give the power to Congress. They have said that they are interested in legislating about presidential families and therefore, we need to hand them over.” Does that seem to be the position of the administration? McFadden suggested Tuesday that he hire a Justice Department attorney.
Republicans are questioning Hunter Biden’s business transactions and financial information, citing concerns that there may be conflicts between Hunter Biden’s various positions as vice-presidential.
Joe Biden’s DOJ made a change in its position and stated that they have the right for the former president to provide tax returns to the committee.
The U.S. law requires that the IRS provide the reports when the committee requests them. Trump’s lawyers tried to prevent the Biden government from responding to the committee’s request in August.
The committee is not authorized to collect tax returns for any legal purpose, and they claim that Trump will be attacked by the documents.
The filing states that the requests were made to only Trump and will have a practical effect on him. The filing states that the requests target President Trump as a Republican and because of his political opposition.
Trump’s attorneys filed an August lawsuit to prevent Biden’s Justice Department delaying complying with the Ways and Means Committee’s request to have the tax returns of the former president.
The statement added that they were forced to respond against Trump for his policies, political views, and protected speech. This includes the positions Trump took in the 2016 and 2020 elections.
McFadden stated that he was also worried about the intentions of Democrats who seek to get Trump’s tax returns, such as Richard Neal (Massachusetts Ways and Means Committee Chairman).
According to the judge, these comments indicate that there is more than one legitimate legislative inquiry.
House panel believes tax returns should be important as Trump’s statements and actions raised serious and unprecedented concerns over his tax compliance and foreign embanglements. The IRS also has the ability to apply the tax laws against Trump while President.
The lawyers for the committee said that Trump is “compared to other Presidents” in an October court filing. Trump’s returns are inordinately complicated and large. It is evident that Trump has extensive business interests, both domestically and internationally. The IRS may not have the resources or authority necessary to review such returns.
Then they added, “And he repeatedly attacked IRS and its audits of me both as a presidential candidate and as President,” which raises the question whether IRS employees are adequately protected against Presidents’ attempts to influence their audits.
Trump’s legal team is trying to keep his returns from being released. However, Trump also asserts executive privilege to prevent the House panel investigating the January 6 Capitol Riot from accessing internal White House records.
On November 30, a federal appeals court will hear arguments in Trump’s suit to stop the committee from receiving these documents.