Stephen Colbert doesn't think Steven Mnuchin fared well in his standoff with Rep. Maxine Waters

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Late Show)

last updated 11 April 2019

Wednesday was the House Ways and Means Committee's deadline for the IRS to turn over six years of President Trump's tax returns, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin punted, saying his legal team is reviewing the request. Trump himself reiterated that he won't release his taxes because he's under audit, even though "yesterday, the IRS commissioner said, again, that you can release your taxes even if you're under audit," Stephen Colbert said on Wednesday's Late Show.

Mnuchin, it seems, isn't going to hand Trump's taxes over without a court order, but he acknowledged Tuesday that the Treasury Department conferred with White House lawyers about a request for the returns. That could violate federal law, Colbert said, doing a wicked imitation of Mnuchin's explanation as a prelude to a recap of Mnuchin's "testy" standoff with Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), in which Mnuchin complained about the length of the hearing with props he evidently brought for the occasion.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.