China News Agency, Washington, August 9 (Reporter Sha Hanting) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for the District of Columbia ruled on the 9th local time that the House Ways and Means Committee of Congress has access to former President Trump's tax records.
Three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in a 3-0 vote that the House Ways and Means Committee has the right to obtain former President Trump's tax records from 2015 to 2020 from the U.S. Treasury Department.
The ruling is in line with a December decision by the District Court for the District of Columbia.
The three justices noted that, by law, the House Ways and Means Committee has the authority to obtain tax records from any individual from the Treasury Department.
The committee's request was "reasonable" and did not violate the principle of separation of powers.
Trump's legal team believes the law is unconstitutional, violates the right to privacy, and may violate the principle of separation of powers.
Next, the Trump team will also be able to appeal to the Supreme Court.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal said on the same day, "After waiting patiently, we finally got this long-awaited result, and the law is on our side."
Neal also said an oversight of the Presidential Audit Program of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will be launched after Trump's tax records are obtained.
In 2019, Neal asked the Treasury Department for Trump's tax records, but Mnuchin, Trump's then-Secretary of the Treasury, refused.
With Biden becoming president of the United States, Neal made the request to the Treasury Department again in 2021, which was approved by the Treasury Department.
Subsequently, the outgoing president Trump indicted the House Ways and Means Committee and the Treasury Department.
By convention, U.S. presidential candidates usually disclose their tax records during the campaign.
Trump is the only U.S. president in more than 40 years with undisclosed tax records.
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