DOJ Reverses Course, Orders Release of Trump Tax Returns to Congress

The Long Battle

Donald Trump broke with decades of presidential tradition by refusing to release his tax returns during the 2016 campaign and throughout his presidency. The House Ways and Means Committee, led by Chairman Richard Neal, had formally requested six years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns from the IRS in 2019, citing a federal law that requires the Treasury Department to furnish returns upon request from certain congressional committees. Trump’s Justice Department intervened, issuing an opinion that the request lacked a legitimate legislative purpose.

The DOJ Reversal

On July 30, 2021, the Biden administration’s Office of Legal Counsel issued a new opinion that reversed the Trump-era position. The 39-page memo concluded that the committee’s request had a legitimate legislative purpose, including evaluating the IRS’s mandatory audit program for sitting presidents, and that the law left the Treasury Secretary with no discretion to refuse. The reversal was a significant moment in the separation of powers dispute, affirming Congress’s oversight authority.

Continued Court Fights

Despite the DOJ’s reversal, the returns were not immediately released. Trump’s personal lawyers filed suit to block their disclosure, and the case moved through the federal court system. It would take until November 2022, after multiple court rulings, before the Supreme Court declined to intervene and the returns were finally turned over to Congress. The House Ways and Means Committee released portions of the returns in December 2022, revealing that the IRS had failed to audit Trump during his first two years in office despite a policy requiring such audits.

What the Returns Showed

When the tax returns were finally made public, they revealed that Trump had paid $750 in federal income taxes in both 2016 and 2017, a figure that had been previously reported by The New York Times. The returns also showed years of massive business losses that Trump used to offset his income, raising questions about whether his tax strategies crossed the line from aggressive avoidance into potential fraud. The disclosure fueled renewed calls for mandatory disclosure of presidential tax returns and reforms to the presidential audit program.