Status: 07/30/2021 10:44 p.m.
Investigators of the US Congress can book a stage victory: The Justice Department instructed the tax authority IRS to hand over the documents of ex-President Trump. Surrender could be tricky for the Republican.
Former US President Donald Trump has to accept another defeat in the dispute over his tax returns. According to the Justice Department, parliament has a “compelling interest” in Trump’s tax returns, in order to find out whether Trump has accepted money from abroad or has been influenced by personal economic entanglements.
The ministry instructed the IRS to forward Trump’s files to investigators on a committee of the House of Representatives. This had given sufficient reasons for an inspection. For Congress, this is a stage win in the dispute over Trump’s tax returns. The Committee on Ways and Means had sued for the documents to be handed over.
“Victory for the rule of law”
Nancy Pelosi, President of the House of Representatives, a Democrat, called the decision a “victory for the rule of law”. Access to the Republican’s tax records is a national security issue, she wrote on Twitter. A statement from Trump on the events was not initially available.
For the former president, the latest development is not good news. Unlike his predecessors, he had always refused to make his tax returns public. Which among other things raised the suspicion that he was not as rich as claimed. He resisted a surrender up to the Supreme Court.
A prosecutor’s office in New York has since received the documents, but no details were allowed to be made public – unless there was a trial. Handing it over to Congress is probably more delicate for Trump: There, the group of those authorized to access is somewhat larger and, under certain conditions, individual details could be published in the course of the committee’s investigation. In addition, confidential information is constantly being leaked out of Parliament.
Conversation note published
The Justice Department was also once again active in the Trump matter. The former president tried – shortly before the end of his term of office – to influence the ministry, it was said. The then attorney general should say the election was “corrupt” and leave the rest to him, Trump, and the Republicans in Congress.
This is clear from a memo published by the ministry. The then Minister Jeffrey Rosen replied that no evidence of electoral fraud had been found. Trump claims to this day that the election was “stolen” from him. He is the actual winner of the election, not Joe Biden.
With information from Katrin Brand, ARD-Studio Washington
Trump under pressure from the Justice Department
Katrin Brand, ARD Washington, July 30, 2021 10:58 p.m.