Why The Quest For Trump’s Tax Returns Is Quixotic

Those of you who’ve been waiting in anticipation of the “treat” of the release now that Democrats control Congress, don’t hold your breath.

Still, it’s important Democrats are going after them. When acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney says Democrats will “never” see the Trump tax returns they’ve requested the IRS to release, he’s inadvertently underscoring why. It’s very different to decline to release something, than to work against it being released in the most frenzied, defensive way possible.

Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani:

“They’ll be in court for two or three years on those taxes. It’s pure harassment…”

And that’s the whole game here as far as the President is concerned: not so much the “harassment” part as the “two or three years” part. By then the 2020 election will be in the books, and then it won’t matter. So a lot of the reason Trump’s fighting the polite but firm request (pointedly not a subpoena) from Rep. Richard Neal (D) MA, who’s Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, is to drag the process out in the courts for as long as possible. Close to the top of his letter, Neal points out the request is “consistent with [the committee’s] authority”. He also set a…