Treasury Department won't meet deadline to release Trump's tax returns

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin sent a letter Wednesday to the House Ways and Means Committee, announcing that his department won't meet the deadline for turning over six years of President Trump's tax returns.

Last week, Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) sent a formal request to the Internal Revenue Service for the returns, setting a deadline of April 10; he is one of three congressional leaders with the authority to request the tax returns of individuals. In his letter, Neal cited a 1924 law stating the IRS "shall furnish" records at the request of an authorized lawmaker.

Mnuchin wrote that he is discussing the request with the Justice Department, and feels it "raises serious issues concerning the constitutional scope of congressional investigative authority, the legitimacy of the asserted legislative purpose, and the constitutional rights of American citizens."

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Previous presidents voluntarily released their tax returns, and Trump has given several reasons as to why he hasn't followed in their footsteps, saying that he can't do so because he is under audit, and also claiming they are so complex, no one would be able to understand them. There is no law keeping him from releasing tax returns while under audit.