Putin summit puts spotlight back on Trump's tax returns
Donald Trump's tax returns are back in the spotlight after his private one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump’s comments during a joint press conference with Putin on Monday alarmed lawmakers, leading some to wonder about the president’s possible financial ties to Russia.
Democrats have since stepped up their calls to have Congress request Trump’s tax returns from the Treasury Department in order to learn more about the president’s finances.
“I think we have a cloud that hangs over this whole administration at this moment in time,” said Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Trump broke with tradition when he became the first major-party presidential candidate in decades to refuse to release his tax returns, citing an ongoing IRS audit, even though the IRS has said audits do not prevent people from releasing their own tax information.
Lawyers for Trump said in a March 2017 letter that “with a few exceptions,” Trump’s tax returns from the previous 10 years didn’t reflect income from Russian sources, debt owed to Russian lenders or investments in Russian entities. As president-elect, Trump said at a press conference in January 2017 that he doesn't think voters care about his tax returns.
In the early months of his presidency, Democrats tried unsuccessfully several times to get him to release the returns or to have Congress request them.
Under federal law, the chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee, Senate Finance Committee and Joint Committee on Taxation can request tax returns from the Treasury Department and then view the documents in a closed session.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/398147-putin-summit-puts-spotlight-back-on-trump-tax-returns?userid=229233