US: Trump fires back at Justice Dept in bid to keep his tax returns secret

Reuters

August 4, 2021: Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday challenged in court last week’s U.S. Justice Department order to turn his tax returns over to a House of Representatives committee, part of his long campaign to keep details of his wealth secret.

In a filing in federal court in the District of Columbia, Trump’s lawyers said the House Ways and Means Committee lacks a legitimate basis for seeking his federal tax returns, and that the Justice Department erred when it backed the committee’s request.

The department, reversing course from the stance it took when Trump was in office, on Friday told the Internal Revenue Service to provide the Republican businessman-turned-politician’s tax records to congressional investigators – a move he has long fought.

Trump was the first president in 40 years to not release his tax returns, as well as other documents, as he aimed to keep secret the details of his wealth and activities of his family company, the Trump Organization.

Disclaimer: This article was originally published by Reuters.