The House Ways and Means Committee is meeting on Tuesday to consider the future of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns, including whether to release the documents to the public.
The committee investigation has been a multi-year battle waged by Democrats to reveal Trump’s financial dealings.
The panel’s latest meeting is crucial to the party’s effort, giving Democrats only days to make a decision on releasing Trump’s tax returns to the public.
There is historic precedent for the Ways and Means Committee to release confidential tax documents, but a decision to do so could be seen as overly political with Trump already a declared presidential candidate for 2024, CNN reported.
The committee won a lengthy legal fight that began in 2019 to gain access to Trump’s tax returns, as well as the returns of eight Trump businesses.
Democrats on the committee could release Trump’s tax documents based on section 6103 of the US tax code that allows for the lawful release of the information, according to the report. But Republicans are expected to accuse Democrats of abusing their power for political purposes, and to also level the claim that Democrats are creating a precedent whereby the committee could release personal information of individuals it had placed under investigation.