Associated Press
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, July 1, 2019.
- The House Ways and Means Committee has filed a lawsuit seeking President Donald Trump's tax returns.
- The committee is suing the US Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service, saying the Trump administration has defied a subpoena "in order to shield President Trump's tax return information from Congressional scrutiny."
- The lawsuit comes after Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin repeatedly rejected Congress' oversight efforts and after acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Democrats will "never" see Trump's taxes.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
A House committee has filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking President Donald Trump's tax returns.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday by the Ways and Means Committee against the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service.
It comes after Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin repeatedly rejected Congress' oversight efforts and after acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Democrats will "never" see Trump's taxes.
The president has refused to release his taxes for years, claiming they are under audit by the IRS. But tax experts say that an individual is free to release their tax returns even when they're under audit.
The Ways and Means Committee says it doesn't have to explain its reasons for seeking Trump's tax return information. It says the administration has defied a subpoena for the documents "in order to shield President Trump's tax return information from Congressional scrutiny."
The committee says it's investigating tax law compliance by the president, among other things.