WASHINGTON D.C. –  Congressman Richard Neal, chair of the House’s Ways and Means Committee Neal has requested six years of President Donald Trump’s tax returns, using a law that has been used to request the tax returns of President Richard Nixon, President Gerald Ford, and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller.

Western New England University History Professor John Baick explained to Reminder Publishing that Section 6103(f) – the law Neal used for the request –  came about in reaction to the Teapot Dome scandals of  mid-1920s, which involved bribery and corruption in the administration of Warren G. Harding.

He added that presidents and  candidates have voluntarily offered their tax returns for scrutiny by the press and voters since the Watergate Scandal under Nixon.

“It has become part of the American landscape since Watergate,” Baick said.

In explaining why he was making the request, Neal issued the following statement: “It is critical to ensure the accountability of our government and elected officials. To maintain trust in our democracy, the American people must be assured that their government is operating properly, as laws intend.

“Congress, as a co-equal branch of government, has a duty to conduct oversight of departments and officials. The Ways and Means Committee in particular has a responsibility to conduct oversight of our voluntary Federal tax system and determine how Americans – including those elected to our highest office – are complying with those laws. It is also our duty to evaluate the operation of the Internal Revenue Service in its administration and enforcement of the tax laws.

“The IRS has a policy of auditing the tax returns of all sitting presidents and vice-presidents, yet little is known about the effectiveness of this program. On behalf of the American people, the Ways and Means Committee must determine if that policy is being followed, and, if so, whether these audits are conducted fully and appropriately. In order to fairly make that determination, we must obtain President Trump’s tax returns and review whether the IRS is carrying out its responsibilities. The Committee has a duty to examine whether Congressional action may be needed to require such audits, and to oversee that they are conducted properly.

“I today submitted to IRS Commissioner Rettig my request for six years of the president’s personal tax returns as well as the returns for some of his business entities. We have completed the necessary groundwork for a request of this magnitude and I am certain we are within our legitimate legislative, legal, and oversight rights.

“I take the authority to make this request very seriously, and I approach it with the utmost care and respect. This request is about policy, not politics; my preparations were made on my own track and timeline, entirely independent of other activities in Congress and the Administration. My actions reflect an abiding reverence for our democracy and our institutions, and are in no way based on emotion of the moment or partisanship. I trust that in this spirit, the IRS will comply with Federal law and furnish me with the requested documents in a timely manner.”

Neal said his request is not part of an effort that would lead to the impeachment of Trump. “The chairman is not going to presuppose anything about what the Committee will find or where the Committee will go,” his press release read about the request.  

Baick noted since Watergate the tradition of releasing tax information has strengthened. He also made clear there is no law to do so.

“A serious candidate has to be seriously prepared for this,” he said.

Baick said the returns must be treated in a “secure and confidential manner” by the Ways and Means Committee.

If the Ways and Means Committee discovers something that is  irregular, the information could be shared with the Department of Justice and the Southern District Court of New York, Baick said..

Under the law the Senate’s Finance Committee would also receive the returns. Sen. Chuck Grassley, chair of th Senate committee, has said, if the “House of
Representatives are going to get them, then I want the Senate Finance Committee to have them.”

Baick said it may take three to six months to examine the returns.