Can anyone please reiterate what the legal basis is for

[Disaffected]

public disclosure of Trump's personal tax returns (in the absence of criminal charges). I'm not clear on that and is it not a rather unusual or unprecedented action?

[secondwind]

1. Perhaps because he was a public figure when he filled out the forms?

It's hard to tell... he's been lying for decades.

[Mister Ed]

2. What I've read previously here on DU...

...is that Trump struck a deal with the IRS in each of those tax years, and that under those circumstances one's tax return becomes public information.

Other DU'er s with legal expertise may be able to tell us whether my recollection is correct.

[FeelingBlue]

3. Isn't it...

A requirement of all US presidents to present tax returns?

[Zeitghost]

4. No

That would require a constitutional amendment.

[Claustrum]

9. It's more just a custom that presidential candidates releases their own tax returns

since Nixon. But there is no "requirement" for it.

[iemanja]

14. It's a common practice

but I don't believe there is any requirement.

[MiniMe]

22. The IRS is supposed to audit them every year, but there is nothing that they should release the

return. I think the release started either with Nixon or Ford. Since then, every President has released their returns...until 2016

[gratuitous]

5. Congress has the absolute, non-discretionary power to request anyone's tax returns from the IRS

It's part of their oversight function. But for some reason, the request from Congress to the IRS Commissioner for the former guy's returns got tangled up with the former guy thinking his returns weren't subject to the law. It went all the way up to the Supreme Court to rule that the statute meant what its plain language said:

Section 6103(f)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) reads:

Upon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate, or the chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Secretary [of the Treasury] shall furnish such committee with any return or return information specified in such request, except that any return or return information which can be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer shall be furnished to such committee only when sitting in closed executive session unless such taxpayer otherwise consents in writing to such disclosure.

[Disaffected]

7. Congress has to power to request and examine alright but,

that legislation does not facilitate public disclosure unless the taxpayer consents (and I doubt Trump did that)??

[gratuitous]

13. Public disclosure is allowed under compelling circumstances

The article I linked to in my post has a much fuller treatment of the tax code and the history that caused Congress to enact those laws. Ordinarily, public disclosure does require the consent of the taxpayer, but if the committee determines that there are compelling circumstances, the taxpayer's consent is not required:

As a bipartisan Senate Finance Committee report stated: “Although the principal purpose of section 6103 is to protect taxpayer-specific information, section 6103 also clearly contemplates the need for the public disclosure in compelling circumstances, and it establishes a formal and carefully considered process for a release: a submission by one of the tax committees to the House or Senate.”

[Disaffected]

19. OK, thanks!

[Attilatheblond]

15. Thinking public disclosure is a bad move & opens doors to a lot of GOP abuse of DEM officials

Wondering if TFG might even have actual grounds for a lawsuit about this stunt.

Yes, CONGRESS/Committees are entitled to see anybody's tax filings. That's the law and Mnuchin & IRS Director broke that law by not turning over the returns. They should be charged and tried for that crime.

But disclosing someone's tax returns to the public? Holy cow, that's such a bad idea/precedent. Thinking it's gonna get very difficult for any public official to get a tax accountant now. Who would want to be in a position of being in the middle of the coming GOP vendetta 'investigations' if tax filings can be made public?

[W_HAMILTON]

18. Most "DEM officials" already release their tax returns as is.

And why are you providing cover for Republicans? When has tradition or precedent ever stopped them from doing shitty things? You think they need an excuse to do shitty things?

[Disaffected]

20. I don't see any justification those remarks.

[W_HAMILTON]

21. I do or else I wouldn't have made it.

I get tired of people making excuses for shitty Republican behavior.

Democrats have treated Republicans with kid gloves for the most part and it hasn't stopped them, not once, from being the assholes we know them to be.

Spoiler alert: they will continue to be assholes, regardless of whether or not these tax returns were released.

[Pantagruel]

6. Just helping TFG

to fulfill his promise to the American people to be the most transparent POTUS and to release them post audit.

[wnylib]

8. I have wondered about this, too.

It's good to see the truth come out against all the lies, but I don't know what the public release is based on.

[Walleye]

10. The people have a right to know if their president is a crook.

I think we established that like 50 years ago

[Claustrum]

11. The best answer I can come up with is probably public interest toward TFG's taxes.

But that's not a legal basis.

[Eugene]

12. Voluntary public disclosure had been the norm since Richard M. Nixon's tax dodges came to light.

There is a public interest in where a president's money comes from and where he owes money.

In the case of deception, disclosure is the best antidote.

[Kennah]

16. Mittens released his 2011 return, in which he overpaid to ensure his effective tax rate was higher

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/romney-earned-nearly-14-million-in-2011-paid-141-percent-tax-rate-campaign-says/2012/09/21/e62e5096-0417-11e2-91e7-2962c74e7738_story.html

[claudette]

17. All presidents

have their tax returns made public when they are in office